Kiss the Crossdresser
by Decipher Philosophy
Summary: Joey will do anything to meet his favorite actor, Alexir De Gon, even if it means to sneak into Kaiba's charity party as a girl! Yet, Kaiba figures out and kicks him out with the insult that he can't pass for a hottie. Joey takes the insult to heart, and challenges him by continuing to cross dress. Puppyshipping, Chaseshipping, stepshipping, peachshipping, blueshipping, etc.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Posting this before my first year of college makes me do something stupid and erase this out of anger!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh.

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><p>Joey screamed a shrilled scream when he sees a movie poster of his favorite action movie star, Alexir De Gon. He was Joey's idol and crush.<p>

He was currently walking with the gang and Mokuba around Domino City for something to do. The younger Kaiba was hanging out with them since it had been too long. His older brother was against him being with the geek squad, but Mokuba had free will.

The long hair boy asked, "What's Joey all excited about?" He watched as Tea and Yugi tried to pull him away from embracing the poster.

Tristan explained with a sigh, "Alexir De Gon is Joey's number one movie star. He literally watched every movie that that guy has ever been in. What's more disturbing is that he can recite all of the guy's lines from any movie, and tell from almost any vague question of which movie that Alexir did or say something in. He's not a crazy stalking fan, but if Joey was as rich as you, he'd go at great lengths to have his idol notice him."

"It wouldn't work though." Mokuba points out.

Joey's ears perked at those words. He had been listening half heartedly to their conversation. He stopped struggling against his friends' grip on him. "An' why's that Mokuba?" He asked curiously. An evident twinkle was in those honey brown eyes. "Did ya meet him before?"

"Well, duh. Lots. He comes to every Kaiba corps charity parties for orphanages, and if you're not as important as my brother, he won't take notice unless you're a girl. He loves women. Even those who are transgendered. Saying goes that as long as you are on the path of becoming a woman, Alexir De Gon will give you a kiss of luck."

Yugi commented with a smile, "Sounds like a really swell guy to me, and his acting is not bad at all, too."

Tea agreed and then giggled. "Poor Joey. If only he was a girl, he would have a chance."

Joey groaned having his body slump downward, and cursed his man parts. He doesn't want to get rid of them though. Even if it meant that he could see his idol if he did. He sighed in defeat.

Yugi tried to cheer him up. "Don't be down, Joey. I bet that if you were a girl, you would be a huge knockout with Alexir De Gon."

Tristan snorted, "With a beautiful sister like Serenity, that's a definite fact," he grins mischievously, "Or you turned out to be an ugly big sister."

"Shut up, Tristan!" Joey growled! He hated being looked down on as not being good enough to be something! "I bet I can pass as a knockout girl now if I dressed up as one!"

Tea bluntly retorts, "I highly doubt that."

Joey falls on the floor comedically. And then gets back up immediately. "I so totally can! Right Yug'?!"

Yugi lightly laughed as an answer.

Mokuba had a light bulb light up in his head. "Maybe we should test it out." Everyone looked at the grinning child. "The Kaiba corp is having another charity party at our mansion next week from now. And Alexir De Gon is sure to be there! So Joey!" He pointed his finger at the blond teen. "Starting from today, that is if you accept my challenge, you will train yourself into becoming a woman! I will help support you by buying you anything that you need to achieve your goal to be noticed by your idol once and for all!"

Yugi and his friends were shocked silent. Joey processed what Mokuba said, and acknowledged that they were fighting words. And he's not the type to run away from them. "Alright squirt, you got yurself a deal!"

His friends were driven beyond shock! "EHHHHHH?!" They tried to reason with their helplessly passionate friend, but Joey set his mind to it.

"Tea!" Joey faced to her with a face of astounding determination! "Imma need yur phone to make an important phone call! We're gonna need all the fire power to win!" Tea jumped on board immediately. She was curious afterall.

His male friends stared at him dumbfounded. Yugi pulled a weak smile, "That's our Joey."

Tristan reverted his attention to Mokuba: the start of all this trouble. "Hey, Mokuba, even if Joey pulls off looking like a girl- and that's a big if - how are you going to make your brother let him in? Despite everything, they still aren't exactly in the friend zone...or any zone for that matter. There relationship is a weird one." The older male put his finger on his chin thoughtfully. Joey and Kaiba aren't friends, enemies, or coincidental company. It's pretty out of the ball park to think about.

Mokuba agreed that his brother and Joey had a weird relationship. "I'll just put Joey on the list with a different name, and tell Kaiba that she's my friend. I'm not lying since Joey is my friend and it's the polite term to call him a she."

That was pretty clever. Seto might do background checks, but Mokuba can handle that, too. Even if Seto figured it out, it will be too late.

._._._._.

"I thought the day would never come, but here I am, and must I say Joey that you came to the right women." Mai smirked. Serenity and Tea giggled. These three girls were the closest females in Joey's life so he trusted them and their opinion.

The four of them were at Mai's sweet duplex apartment. Joey was sitting on the couch while the three were staring at him like a new puppy or project.

Joey had some hesitation about the challenge that Mokuba gave him, but the idea of finally seeing and being acknowledged by Alexir would be AWESOME! And he might even get a kiss! His heart was set alight by just imagining it! He can't quit no matter what!

"So what are we going to do first?" Serenity asked.

Mai started, "With his voice obviously and his manners. It's easy to dress you up, but it's no good if you can't act or even sit like a girl." She glanced at how Joey is lying slouched against the couch with his legs spread wide open. The boy immediately sat up straighter with his legs closed and crossed.

Tea nodded, "Joey, Mokuba is sending over a speech tutor to help you sound and speak like a girl. We will be the ones to teach you how to move like one on heels, and then finally dress you up! You only have a week so you better be tough and listen up, okay?!"

Joey nodded briskly. He will not disgrace himself in front of his idol!

And so the lessons went on for five days relentlessly! Joey had to try hard to bring his voice to sound high yet soft! He had to learn of how to sound polite and smart so he would fit into the rich society! He had to learn of how to walk, sit, eat, and dance with heels on everyday! He also went to the spa with the girls to clean himself up and get both his armpits and legs waxed! His screams will forever hold a special place in the girls' hearts as they proudly watched Joey suffer for his prize of beauty.

When his training was complete, Joey, the girls, Tristan and Yugi were at Mai's duplex apartment. Mokuba was too busy with his own school work, so would have to wait until Joey came to the party. Yugi and Tristan, on the other hand, were waiting at the living room while the girls were in Mai's room to make choices.

Yugi looked down and fidgeted a bit. Tristan took notice. "What're you so nervous about? You're not the one being dressed up like a girl."

The tri-colored teen gave a small nervous smile at his brunette friend. "I know. I don't know whether I'm excited or shocked about this. Joey spent a whole week preparing himself to meet his idol that he even refused to come play a new video game or go eat at Burger World!"

"No way! But that's his favorite fastfood restaurant! Joey's really serious!" Tristan never knew of how high the stakes were for his ex-gangster friend.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, and if this doesn't turn out well for Joey, I don't know if I have the heart to tell him."

Tristan tried to think of comforting words, but now, even he was becoming nervous! He didn't want to break Joey's heart!

The two males sat on the couch anxiously. The girls, on the other hand, were having fun.

"Joey, you already have a nice clear face so there's no need for too much foundation." Serenity told her brother. The last few days had been really fun for her. It's always a breath of fresh air to see her brother try his hardest to win. Tea was picking out a hairstyle while Mai was picking out the dress, shoes and accessories. "I am going to give you the sweet and simple look since you told me that Alixir's favorite card is the mystical elf. So I'm going to use some pink eyeshadows to bring out your hazel eyes, and I'll have to put on some mascara and fake eye lashes so please stay still big brother."

Serenity worked on his eyes. Joey never felt like he had been poked or rubbed on the face so much from all the cosmetics. His little sister then put pink blush on his cheeks before making her big brother put on a nice baby pink lipstink.

Tea took a look once that was finally done. "Oh wow Joey! You already look like a girl! I stand corrected when I thought you wouldn't pull it off! Who knew."

Joey grinned, and used his feminine voice, "Of course! And I bet that if I was a girl, I'll have bigger boobies than you!"

"Dream on!" Tea joked, and then returned to business. "Anyway, I think I have the perfect hairstyle for you. Since Serenity wanted you to look sweet and innocent, I decided that we'll just have to give you wavy hair extensions. And your bangs will be brushed a bit to the side."

Joey made a dubious face. "It sounds like you guys are makin' me into some highschool girl. I was thinkin' more glam and bam y'know. Like Mai."

Mai tsked at the only male in the room with a wagging finger. "Don't be so clueless, Joey. A lot of those other women in that party will be dressed with that fancy hollywood glam. What we are doing is making you stand out the most by giving you less. And I got the perfect dress for your sweet and simple look." Mai pulled out a sleeveless 50s styled emerald green dress that was with a boat neckline. "This dress will not only show off your amazing legs, but a great way to make sure that your boobies don't fly out."

"And what size will my boobies be?" Joey hadn't thought about his fake boobies until now. He thought that that would be the first thing on his mind but, no, he was washed with other things before he can even think of fun trivial things like his fake boobies.

Mai went to her closet where she took out a bag of fake boobs. "I bought all the sizes so it's your choice. How big do you want them, Joey?"

The brown-eyed duelist looked into the bag to see that Mai did buy every size from A to whatever letter limit there was for boobs. He felt uncomfortable of choosing them with his little sister in the room so he thought about it quick, and settled for the C-size boobies. It's not too big, but not too small either.

And so Joey's hair was lengthened by wavy extensions, and bangs brushed to the side by Tea. He was fit into a bra to hold the fake boobs by Mai. Serenity helped him into the emerald dress. Mai's choice of shoes was a pair of white mary jane pumps. The accessories were a pearl necklace, earrings and bracelet for his left wrist along with a white hand bag.

With that, the girls were ready to show the males waiting outside their creation. The girls stepped out of the room first. Mai spoke, "Rise men." Yugi and Tristan obeyed. Their hearts raced. "One of yours has been successfully transformed into a great woman! I expect only compliments! Now, come out Josephine!" The three girls moved to the side with their arms stretched out to the door.

Joey stepped out on his pumps in a smooth feminine matter. Yugi and Tristan gasped. Their eyes unable to go any wider than they wished they could. The male transformed female stopped three feet in front of them. He spoke in his new feminine voice, "So what do you think?"

The boys' reality shattered. They were speechless! It looked like the girls didn't do much at all to have changed Joey like...like...like this!

Joey became worried by their silence. Did he fail? Is he hideous? Did he sound too soft? Is everything for naught?!

He asked anxiously, "Is something wrong? Come on, I need an answer you two!"

Tristan and Yugi couldn't look directly at their male friend because their hearts were thumping fast for another reason. Joey thought he failed, but then the girls laughed.

"Oh wow, they're speechless!" Tea cried out and giggled. "What's wrong you guys?! Is Joey too irresistible?!"

Joey was confused until he took a closer look at his friends to notice that they were blushing! He blushed as well. He knew that he would look good, but even for his own guy friends to be uncomfortable with his own hotness?

He grinned, and then hugged Yugi. He had his fake boobies against the side of his friend's face. Yugi went bright red that he thought that he would pass out. Tristan was relieved to be safe.

Joey teased his little friend with his female voice. "C'mon Yug'! What do you think?!"

"I-I-It's very nice, J-Joey."

"Yeah," Tristan agreed. "Wow, you really proved me wrong! You can look hot for a girl."

Joey now latched himself to his best friend's arm. Yugi breathed as if he had been holding it for a long time. "Really, Tristan? Do you mean that?"

The brunette wasn't freaked out. He knew Joey was just kidding with him. Even if he, himself, was pretty good looking for the ladies. "Yeah. I can't wait for Kaiba's face when he sees you!" He grinned. "Just thinking about it is already making me laugh!"

Joey laughed evilly. "I am so going to crash moneybag's party and get Alexir De Gon to finally notice me!" He looked to a clock at the wall to see that it was nine in the evening. The party started an hour ago, and Mokuba wanted him to be late since his older brother had the tendency to slip out of the party to do more work before returning to the party as if he hadn't left. "I should be going now!" he grabbed the three girls' hands. "Thank you for everything! I so totally owe all of you!" He turned to the guys and gave them a teasing wink, "See you two later! My limo awaits!"

._._._._.

Mokuba was waiting outside of the mansion where he was greeting the other guests, but was actually waiting for Joey. His heart jumped by excitement when he saw the limo that he called for his blond friend to ride. He had done everything to make sure Seto didn't catch on to his real plan tonight. He was pretty sure that Seto didn't know since he hadn't confronted him on the matter of adding a Josephine White on the guest list.

The limo stopped in front of the mansion. Joey stepped out in his new transformation. Mokuba stared at this woman. She looked similar to Joey, but he wasn't sure. Not until the woman approached him directly, and said with a feminine voice, "So?"

Mokuba's jaw dropped. "Wo-Wow! Joey is that really you?!" The kid looked up and down the woman to see that it was quite a simple look, but Joey shined in it.

"You bet, kid." Joey winked. "Now will you escort me in."

"Of course!" Mokuba wrapped his arm around the pretty lady's own, and told the receptionist to keep up the good work as if he was the big boss.

Joey looked around the mansion's foyer, and thought that he was going to meet royalty or gods by how shiny and well sculpted the place was. He must hand it to the owner to keep such a place looking pretty neat. Speaking of owner, Joey asked, "Where's Seto?"

"He's at his office so there's absolutely nothing to worry about." Mokuba gave him a reassuring smile.

Joey scoffed despite being glad, "It's so like him to work even at his own party."

"Hey, my brother is running a company y'know!" The little brother defended.

The blond still mumbled, "Unless he's also some superhero, he should at least relax and mingle! Doesn't he ever take a vacation?"

The long haired kid heard him. "Only when I ask but he still tries to get away with working at night when he thinks I'm sleeping, or whenever I'm not looking." Mokuba frowned a bit as he remembered on the last vacation that he stripped Seto of all his phones and laptops, but the CEO still tried to check on his company from a payphone.

Joey caught on quickly of the depressing mood, so joked, "Hmph! He needs to go to workaholic rehab, so he can finally make some friends who share something in common with a hell of a guy like him." He grinned when he heard the kid snicker.

They entered the mansion's backyard patio where there was fancy hanging lanterns above to brighten the place. Security guards were seen from afar, and there was a garden maze that was closed off from access by both a gate and guards from the way back.

Joey saw plenty of rich famous people chatting with one another. They were all dressed in either suits, tuxes or a very beautiful dress. Joey looked at the crowd of females to see them all in their glam and bam while he looked simple.

Joey immediately felt out of place. He knew some of the famous faces around, and never dreamed of standing in the same backyard, not even in the same place, as them! He never truly thought the situation through so wasn't mentally prepared for this. Joey wasn't sure if his heart was beating anymore. His feet felt cold and wanted to be warmed up somewhere else. Specifically not here.

He tried to inspire himself by remembering all of the hard work that was put into him, but it just made it harder for him to beathe. He turned away. "I can't do this."

"What?" The younger Kaiba was bewildered by the act of no confidence from the most confident person he knew.

Joey replied, "Mokuba, I'm a guy."

The kid's brows furrowed by the obvious. "You don't sound like one. It's weird but also really impressive."

"Yeah," Joey didn't mean to soumd as annoyed as he was by the obvious, "but I don't belong here."

"Don't say that! You're Joey Wheeler slash Josephine white!" Mokuba cried out, but not loud enough for the others to look over at them. "You are an incredible duelist who belongs here like the rest of us! Even more than these guys' dates for sure! You can do this Jo!"

Joey thought pessimistically, but looking at Mokuba's determined face, he couldn't let him down. So sucked it up, and turned back around. "You're right, kid! I'm not some hoe! I'm Joey Wheeler slash Josephine White! One of the best duelist in the world!" He strode into the crowd with blind confidence! He was going to find Alexir De Gon and...is that food?

Joey immediately forgot his goal when he reached the buffet table that only had finger food. Mokuba weakly smiled at Joey's one tracked mind and stomach. Alexir de Gon was actually at the other side of the patio, but they'll eventually meet...or so he prayed. He had his own work to be an impressionable young man to the people, and if nothing happened in about half an hour, he'll do something about it.

The blond duelist moaned when he put a chocolate covered strawberry in his mouth. He was careful about it though so he wouldn't ruin his lips. He did have a lipstick in his handbag so he wasn't too worried.

"You must really like strawberries." A nice thick voice commented.

Joey nodded with a greedy grin, but then his happy face turned into shock when he saw that is was Alexir De Gon speaking to him. He swallowed his strawberry which went down the wrong tube, and he began choking. He held his throat, and then began trying to breathe instinctively. He panicked as he tried to tell his idol that he was choking.

Alexir's eyes widened as he quickly caught on. He turned Joey around and did the abdominal thrust. It took three thrusts before Joey got the strawberry out. He wheezed for air before standing up straight. When he calmed down, he looked around to see that everyone was staring at him. "It's alright! I'm okay!" He told them with his feminine voice.

Everyone stared for a few more seconds before returning to their own discussions. Mokuba face palmed himself.

Joey faced Alexir. "Thank you. You saved my life. I owe you one."

The famous actor stared incredulously at this recently choking victim before he got his senses back. "Don't mention it. I'm happy to save a life. Especially one that's as beautiful as yours."

"Beautiful? Really?" Joey lightly blushed, and nervously said, "Because I see a lot of hotties around who aren't choking on strawberries." he giggled because he didn't want his crush to hear his horrendous laugh.

Alexir had no problem in laughing. His laugh made inner Joey squeal in delight. Even more so when he was given the compliment, "You're funny."

"My friends thinks so, too. I am Josephine White, the best comedian you'll ever known." Joey gave a friendly wink. He mentally punched his winking eye because he should not be too flirty to the point that he's annoying.

His star chuckled. Good response! "I'm Alexir De Gon. So you're a comedian?"

"No. That was a joke...too." Each of Joey's words got quieter as he spoke. He fakely laughed while mentally cursing at himself for being confusing and unattractive, and making the atmosphere awkward. He tried to make it better. "So what are you doing over here?" He remembered that he was next to the buffet table. "I mean you obviously want to eat. Beware the strawberries though. Those delicious fruity treats are out to get you." Joey wasn't sure if he sounded cute or retarded. If Kaiba was here, he would have called him an idiot with that sneer of his.

Alexir surprisingly played along. "Alright. But I actually came over here to talk to you. I must say, you certainly stand out with your baby pink lipstick and 50s styled emerald dress. So simple but you're something else."

Joey inwardly squealed again by the compliment. Alexir just called him something else! That's...a good thing, right? "What do you mean by that?"

His idol sheepishly smiled. "Okay, I'm gonna sound kinda weird, but it's like it's not the armor that makes the warrior but the warrior himself. In this case, you're making that dress look good than it's supposed to."

"Thank you." Joey looked down at the floor as his pink cheeks went completely red. The blond finally got Alexir's attention and it didn't seem like anyone was going to bother them, so he had to take this chance to tell the man what he's been wanting to tell him for so long. But not here. "Alexir De Gon," The incredibly handsome man looked at him. "I'm actually a really big fan of yours, and I really need to tell you something. Do you mind going somewhere more private?"

"Uh, sure. I don't mind being with a pretty lady like you."

Joey felt guilty to be tricking his star, but there was no harm in simply confessing to his idol. "Then follow me. I know the owner of this place, and he's allowing us to go into the garden so we can speak privately." Mokuba had told the guards to allow only them through the garden's gate.

And so the two of them were finally alone. The garden was lit up by yellow Christmas lights so they could still see each other. Joey breathed in deeply. This moment had to perfect.

When they were far enough in the garden, Joey walked a few steps in front from his idol, stopped and turned around. He knew that he should start with the truth first even if it is disturbing. "Alexir De Gon, I have to be honest with you. I'm actually a guy. My real name is Joey Wheeler, and I dressed up as a girl to talk with you." He lets this information sink into his idol. He refused to look at his idol's face, so he settled his eyes on the floor. He continued to talk with his feminine voice before Alexir could speak. "The reason I did this was so I can say thank you."

He looked Alexir in the eye to see that the man was dumbfounded. That relieved Joey as he continued, "I grew up with a rough childhood. My father became a drinking addict which got my parents divorced and I was separated from my mom and my sister who I really care for. I was left alone to fend for myself and survive through my dad's abuse. I thought that I was going to be in that dark place forever, but then one day, I watched a movie where you acted as this man who gone through an abusive life and I know that that's not your real life, but the way you acted out that person...It gave me hope. That person you acted as gave me morals, and I wouldn't have met some really great people who are my friends now if you hadn't taken that role."

Joey held in the tears because he was so happy to finally tell this person everything that he needed to say. "You didn't mean to, but you helped me out of my depression." Joey lowered his eyes to gather up the rest of his courage to end this. He took a deep breath and then looked into Alexir's eyes again with a gracious smile. "What I'm trying to say is thank you for being an inspiration."

Everything was silent.

That silence was broken when Alexir sheepishly chuckled. The man replied to that heartfelt confession, "Wow, so this is what it truly feels to have an angel in front of you."

Joey was confused. Alexir clarified, "I mean that I am not creeped out at all that you are a guy. This had happened before. A lot. And I was actually going to quit acting."

"What?! You can't quit acting! You're amazing!" Joey felt his heart disappear when he imagined a life without Alexir's acting in movies!

"Yeah, I guess I forgot that, but you reminded me of why I started acting in the first place. Vainly, it was for the fame, but also to be noticed as someone more than just a man you'd see from day to day. I didn't know who or what that someone is, and felt lost. But you, Joey Wheeler, dragged me out of the half-hearted buried grave like the sword of excalibur. Sorry, I didn't mean to switch to my movie lines. I-"

"It's okay." Joey approached his idol. "You were reciting the lines of the movie where you were philosophical wizard who lost his way." The blond then recited, "I shall take thy excalibur and let thy handle go when we reach the doorway."

Alexir was impressed. He didn't want to spend the night reciting his movie lines, so casually spoke, "Let's have fun then. And I do know who you are Joey Wheeler. The third greatest duelist around the world. You're my favorite male duelist, so I guess we're both getting a treat tonight."

Joey felt his whole being explode. "I'm your favorite?! No way! Do you want to see my duel cards? I never leave them at home! They're in my handbag right here!" The excited crossdresser took out his deck.

"What a coincidence." Alexir took out his deck. "I may be an actor, but I also bring my deck as well since I love bringing my favorite mystical elf card around."

"Sweet! How about we have a duel then?!"

"You're on."

And so the two talked while having a duel on a stone bench. It wasn't windy so their cards were safe to put down. As they continue to draw down their cards and reveal their traps and magic cards, Joey began to see Alexir as more of a human than some great god-like being or symbol. The crossdresser still liked the man a lot, but then his feelings weren't as intense as it was before. The man is still his idol, but he's no longer fitted into the blond's romantic fantasies.

Unsurprisingly, Joey won the duel. "It looks like I won so you owe me a sweet treat! But you were pretty good, too! You really caught me off guard with your magic cards."

"Alexir De Gon can't help bringing magic into the occasion. Throwing magic spells here and there to possess the hearts of the lovely. But a true love's kiss will break my spells." The man winked making his victorious opponent lightly blush. He slyly asked, "Do you consider a kiss to be a sweet treat?"

Joey's eyes widened. He should have expected that to have been coming. "Uhm, I think I need to freshen up at the bathroom first." The blond duelist puts his cards back into his handbag before standing up. "Let's go back to the party. The other hotties must be worried about you."

Joey began walking back to the party. He went to the restroom that was upstairs where he actually needed to use the restroom, and then called up Mai.

The woman was still at her apartment where she was watching a movie with the others who stayed. Duke made himself come over after Tristan sent him a photo of Joey in drag that Mai took.

"Hey Joey! How is it going with Alexir?" The woman paused the movie since she knew the others wanted to hear. She had her phone put on speaker.

"It's awesome! Alexir is the best! And he knows that I'm a guy, but still wants to kiss me!"

"That's great!" Serenity cheered.

"Yeah, but the thing is...I don't want to."

"What?!" Tristan was shocked. "But dude, you've been crushing on him since you were a kid! What gives?!"

"I know! But I just know in my gut that I won't enjoy the kiss."

Mai reasoned, "Do you have beans for brains, Joseph?! He's kissed a lot of girls. He must be a good kisser."

"No! That's not what I meant!" Joey grumbled something under his breathe that the others couldn't hear.

Yugi asked, "What do you mean?"

The blond duelist sighed. "I mean that I thought that after meetin' my idol, I would be head-over-heels, but I'm not. And I feel like he expects me to be in some sort of trance after kissin' 'im, but I know I won't be." He growled to himself, and tried to make sense by telling them, "Wha' I mean is...I feel like I'm gonna kiss the wrong guy."

Duke asked, "Then who's the right guy? You can't think that someone is the wrong guy unless you have the right guy in mind."

Tea asked, "Is the right guy at the party?"

Joey faintly knew who the right guy was at the back of his head, but didn't want it to be true. "I'm not sure."

Tristan wasn't going to take that answer. "What do you mean that you're not sure?! Is he there or not?! Just give us an answer!"

Joey did not want to be confronted right now so shouted back, "I don't know alright?! I need to figure dis out on my own for now, so see you later guys. I might be leavin' earlier than I thought." The blond hung up his phone, and then sighed.

_What's wrong wit' me? I always wanted to kiss Alexir De Gon, but now that I know 'im in person, I don't want to. Jus' thinkin' of kissing him right now is putting a bad feeling in my stomach. And why did I tell my friends that I didn't know if the right guy is here or not. I know he's not here. I don't even know who he is._

Joey felt his heart strings pulled which sang to him that he was lying to himself. He had been wanting to be acknowledged by a certain male who's the same age as him, but now, he's not sure if he knew what kind of acknowledgement he wanted now.

He knew that he wasn't going to figure this out in the bathroom, but Alexir was expecting him, and probably won't kiss him immediately, but they will eventually do it. Why didn't his heart want him?

He sighed, and then made his way out of the bathroom.

Kaiba knew that he should return to his party soon since he was the host. He made his way out of the door after saving and sending his work on his laptop. He mentally ranted to himself of how bored or annoyed he was going to be, but the charity is for orphanages.

He walked out of the room to the mansion's foyer. He glanced at the side when the color of green caught his eye. He tilted his head up to see of who was coming down the stairs. His sharp eyes widened slightly when he saw a young blond woman making her way down. The word beautiful didn't correctly describe this woman. The correct word would be...fresh? Kaiba felt like he breathed in a new brand of fresh air while in the same time felt like he knew who this person was. Her face was familiar.

Joey was looking down at the steps as he was trying to feel something close to really liking Alexir De Gon, but it was hopeless. He felt a pair of eyes on him so looked toward the source where he saw Seto Kaiba. And in that moment, all of the bad feelings in his stomach disappeared. What he felt was a breath of fresh air and his heart doing something weird when the air helped it beat.

But this was Seto Kaiba! Joey was quickly reminded that this person was a stubborn asshole, and that he can't stand this person. But his heart was fighting with his mind which made him lose balance on the stairs. He tumbled down the stairs until he found his face planted on the foyer's floor and butt up in the air.

Kaiba was shocked by the comedic turn of event, but what shocked him more was the white panties that was exposed to him. The CEO had seen women with bikini bottoms on (but not with a buty as good as the one he's staring at now), so knew that women shouldn't have something slighly buldging out of a certain place. "Wheeler?"

Joey panicked. He quickly got off the floor and checked his nose to feel nothing broken or bleeding. His ankles were fine as well. He faced Kaiba and quickly thought on his feet. "Wheeler?! I'm not Wheeler! I'm Josephine White! I believe your younger brother told you all about me!" He added a fake obnoxious laugh.

"Drop the act Wheeler. I've already seen your balls. Surprise to know you have them." Kaiba tried to grimace, but he couldn't be angry at Joey for crashing his charity event in drag. Not when the male looked pretty damn good.

Joey growled and used his real voice, "Well I haven't seen yours rich boy! So who's the real man here?!"

"Me, since I'm in a suit, and you're in a dress like that." Kaiba had his eyes travel down to see a sexy pair of legs that's been waxed. He quickly reverted his eyes. "Did you come here to humiliate yourself more? I thought being a third-rate duelist was humiliating enough."

"Hey! I'm the third best duelist around the world!"

"By Pegasus' opinion. But if it was up to me, you wouldn't even be in the top hundred. Or even exist outside of that range either." The rich male sneered at the crossdresser whose face looked like he's about to blow a gasket.

But surprisingly Joey controlled his temper. The blond duelist wanted to give Seto Kaiba a good ass whooping, but he had more important things to do. He reverted back to his female voice. "Say whatever ya want moneybags, but I didn't come here to argue with you. I came here to see my idol, Alexir De Gon!"

Kaiba was silently impressed by Joey's capability to sound like an actual girl, and was also miffed that the blond had something better to do than fight with him for some other guy. "And how's that going for you?"

"Awesome! Unlike you, he's a gentleman who shows me respect even if I he knows that I'm actually Joey Wheeler! And by the end of the night, I'm going to have my first kiss with him!" That last sentence put a bad feeling back in Joey's stomach. But he ignored it. "Don't try to kick me out cuz I have Mokuba on my side!" Joey left with a mocking yet somewhat true statement, "Nice party by the way, rich boy!"

Kaiba was extremely annoyed that that stupid mutt had put his own little brother against him if he wanted him out. The CEO set out to find his little brother. He found the black hair kid talking pleasantly to some rich people. Seto had one of his men tell Mokuba to come to him.

The kid immediately excused him to go over to an uncrowded corner where Seto could speak to him out of clear hearing range."Is something wrong Seto?"

"Mokuba, what is Wheeler doing at my party?" Kaiba had his eyes on the blond who was currently standing with Alexir and cheerfully talking with the other people.

The kid was shocked, "You know?"

"Yes, and I do not take kindly to being fooled by my own little brother to let one of his friends sneak into my charity event just to see their idol. It's a charity event for orphanages. Not stupid mutts."

Mokuba frowned guiltily, but he wasn't going to give up on Joey. "But Seto, Joey worked really hard to see his idol! He tried his absolute hardest in just a week to look, sound and act like that! Aren't you even the littlest impressed!"

_More than you think. _

Kaiba stifled his thoughts. His glare narrowed to his younger brother. "I do not care of what he had to do to get you on his side against me. You betrayed me Mokuba. For that, you lose your internet priviledges until I see fit."

"But Seto-!"

"That is the end of our discussion, Mokuba. I will have Roland block your internet connection starting tomorrow." Kaiba was about to take out his phone, but was interrupted by a yell.

"Now hold on there Moneybags! You can't punish Mokuba for helping me out!" Joey had seen them and knew from the body language that they weren't having a friendly discussion. He left Alexir to help the poor kid.

Kaiba narrowed his ice-glare at the blond, but Joey wasn't stepping back when fire was burning in his own eyes. "It's not your choice to make, mutt."

"Oh, what a great big brother you are." Joey told him sarcastically.

Mokuba didn't like that tone, "Hey, Joey-"

Joey interjected, "Don't cut in, squirt. Moneybags here needs to stop being such an asshat. Go ahead and kick me out asshole, but don't punish Mokuba for being a good friend!"

"And this is exactly why I don't want Mokuba hanging out with you and your geek squad. You're teaching him to make the worst choices."

"I'm not teachin' your brother diddly squat about makin' bad choices! At least with us, he doesn't have to answer to your expectations or be put down when you give out that whole lonely speech!"

"That is enough! Security!"

"Already callin' them, huh?! I don't need your damn guards ta escort me to the door! I'm leaving!" Joey marched on his pumps to the door with the security guards behind him. Alexir was confused and concerned for him. He got more confused than concern when the duelist gave him a grin and a wave goodbye.

Mokuba ran after Joey. Seto cried out his name which made him hesitate, but he ran to Joey nevertheless.

Joey was left alone once he was out of the mansion's doors. A taxi was called for him since the limo he rode was a property of Kaibacorp.

Mokuba came out of the place for him. "Joey!"

Guilt smothered the impulsive teen's heart. "Sorry Mokuba. I didn't mean to g't caught, but I don't regret telling yur brother off! I wish that you didn't have ta get punished cuz of me."

"I'm okay with that. It's not the first time that Seto deprived me of things."

Joey held in a snort. "Still, I'm sorry."

"Me too. Did you at least had a good time."

"Yeah! Today is the most awesome night of my life! And it's all thanks to you Mokuba! If I was actually a girl, I'd give you a big o' kiss!" Joey wrapped an arm around the pipsqueak in a harmless choke hold. And then released him.

Mokuba scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, and then placed a horizontal finger under his nose. "It was nothing! Really! I just gave you the opportunity and you worked your hardest to reach here!"

"It's what Joey Wheeler does! I never run from a challenge even if the odds are against me! And I never let my family or friends down! Maybe not never, but definitely most of the time I don't! Considerin' tha ya got in trouble thanks to me."

"Will you let that go already! I'm going to be fine! Yugi and the others must be waiting to hear of how your night went!"

"Yeah. They're all waiting back at Mai's place, probably watching a movie. Stay a good kid, Shorty."

"I'm getting taller!"

"Sure you are." The older male grinned mirthfully.

Mokuba's face reddened like a tomato. "I swear! And I bet someday that I'll be taller than you someday!" He pointed a finger at him.

Joey threw his fist in the air and bought it down to his chin level. "Dream on, kid! Unless you're drinking your bottle, you won't reach a single inch to where I am!"

"Hey, my brother is taller than you and someday I'll be that tall! Maybe even taller!"

"Yeah, your brother's that tall cuz he's still drinking out of his bottle since he's such a dramatic baby!"

"My brother is not a baby! And how are babies dramatic?!"

"You're right. Your brother is more like grumpy the cat on TV. Always making that face like this thinking," Joey did a poor imitation of Seto's voice with a comedic grim face. "Oh god, I'm so rich and pretty that I don't even need to smile cuz if I do, a puppy must die. All puppies must die cuz they're stupid and I'm rich. Muhahaha!"

Mokuba couldnt help laughing! He playfully punched the blond on the arm. "That's not nice!"

"Never said I was, kid." Joey let out a good sigh through his nose. He felt better. "At least not to creeps like ya brother and that Sigfreak guy."

The kid let out a good sigh of his own through his nose. "But you saying that Seto's a cat is pretty accurate since he calls you a dog, and you two go at it like cats and dogs. Why is that exactly?"

"Cuz yur brother looks down on me and I'm not going to take it. I don't care of how rich, young, old, pretty or whateva ya are. You gotta show respect and that's not what I got the first time we met."

"First time you met?"

"Yeah!" Joey stood straight with his eyes closed as he somewhat remembered that time. The memory was fuzzy, but his ill feelings were bubbling hot inside him. "He entered Yugi's grandpa's shop and I was being all nice, and what I got back were insults! I didn't do anything wrong! I was being nice! Nothing's changed since."

That didn't sound right. "It can't be nothing. The two of you have gone through a lot together. Something must've changed between you two."

"If something changed then I must be missing it. Your brother and me will always be arguing to the very end. Its just who we are." That ended on a tired note.

Mokuba thought that Joey felt sad that that's all there was to their relationship. The kid wasn't exactly sure of what to say to that.

Yet Joey continued on a more cheerful note, "but it's not all bad. Dueling your brother can be fun, and I will beat him someday! Like I beat Yugi once."

"What?"

Joey realized of what he said, and didn't want to get the short end of the stick if anyone knew the truth. He quickly reiterated, "I mean beat some other guy! Not Yugi! Definitely not Yugi! He's the king of games after all! Heh heh heh! Anyway, your brother must be waiting for you inside. I'll be okay out here."

"No. I like being out here with you. All anyone inside talks to me about is my brother, Seto. They all try to suck up to me to get to him. That's why I like hanging out with you guys. You hang out with me not cuz Seto's my brother. You just let me and it's fun."

Joey smiled warmly at Mokuba that the kid was lovestruck by the expression. The older teen ruffled his hair. "I have fun with you, too, kid. Now run along. Your brother's waitin'."

"But your ride hasn't arrived yet." The driveway was empty and no car lights could be seen from afar.

"It'll come. I'm not gonna get mugged or anythin' so stop worrying."

Mokuba groaned. "Okay, but be careful when you get home, alright."

"Yeah, yeah, now g't your butt in there." Joey playfully kicked the kid's butt as he entered.

Joey was then alone in front of the mansion hoping that the taxi will finally come. But then half an hour past. He got tired of standing that he sat down on the first few steps of the mansion. He had spent the first minutes of his time thinking about random things before looking over his cards to make up some small strategies.

When a full hour finally past, Joey began talking to them about bizarre stuff. "You guys think I look pretty good for a girl right? Skirts are nice to wear. I never thought feelin' the breeze between my thighs would feel nice. I almost felt tempted to do that Marilyn Monroe stunt with the dress flying up and stuff. But we all know what happened the last time I tried to dress up like her." His body wilted. He had never felt so bored and irritated in his life!

He was irritated because he didn't want to kiss Alexir. He kept repeating to his bad stomach that he did, but it just got worse. He at least wanted to kiss someone tonight. His stomach then growled, but he ignored it since he can't come back inside to eat food. He felt so pathetic.

Seto Kaiba opened his mansion door to check if the mutt was still there since the taxi service that was called for had traffic trouble. He saw the helpless crossdresser sitting on his steps with a slack hand holding dueling cards and his back slouched forward. Joey began to whimper when his stomach began to growl again.

The CEO felt his very small compassionate side want to bring food for him, but he regressed. The mutt had to leave because he wasn't going to have his guests leave on an awkward note when they see this pathetic person sitting there like a dog with his tail between his legs. He took out his cellphone to call the taxi service again. But then he heard a soft mumbling from the blond who stood up after putting his cards in his handbag.

Joey began to sing, "You hit me once; I hit you back; You gave a kick; I gave a slap; You smashed a plate over my head; Then I set fire to our bed!" And then began making the following musical beats before repeating. The blond began dancing as he sang the sung that was Kiss with a fist by Florence and the Machines.

Seto watched this duelist practically make a fool of himself as he began to sing the song passionately with his fake female voice. It wasn't amazing, but it was fun to watch.

When that song was done, Joey switched to singing Leaving so soon by Keane with his real voice which was a lot more pleasant to hear but not impressive either. "Ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah! Ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah! You must think I'm a fool. So prosaic and awkward and all. D'you think you've got me down? D'you think I've never been out of this town?"

Seto felt like Joey was singing this song to him. Not that he cared. He waited until the blond was done singing before making himself known. "Still here Wheeler?"

Joey felt all of his bored feelings drained away and replaced by anger. "What does it looks like rich boy?! The damn taxi still isn't here!"

Seto ignored his rudeness. "There happens to be heavy traffic, so it looks like I have to get rid of you by giving you a ride in one of my own limos. It should be arriving shortly."

Joey felt relieved to finally get out of the place, but he didn't want to do it through this bastard's own service. "As if! I'm leaving on foot."

Seto was irritated by the blond being difficult again. He pointed out, "You'll ruin your shoes."

"So what?!" Mai gave them to him to keep, anyway. "It's better than having to do anything with you anymore! I'm leaving!"

The higher rank duelist inwardly growled. He then sneered as he mockingly pointed out, "In that dress? If I remember correctly, you live in the slums. It'd be interesting to read tomorrow's newspaper of what happened to you."

Joey felt a shiver of fear in his back and legs, but stayed strong. "Shut it ya jerk! I can fend for myself! In a dress or not!"

"You're better off without the dress considering that a mannequin can pull it off better than you."

Now that was the last straw! Joey was not going to let his pride get squash by this asshole! "You think I don't pull off this look! Well, that's where you're wrong! I got a lot of compliments!"

"I bet that they were all out of pity."

"GGNRAH! Watch it Kaiba! I know how to use my pump as a weapon." He really did. He watched a hooker take down a John by using them.

Seto chuckled. "Ooh, I'm so scared. Now get off my driveway and be the walking disgrace that you are."

"Fuck you Kaiba! I can so totally pull off being a chick! Just you wait and see!" Joey wasn't thinking of his words, but he's going to stand by whatever he spouted out.

The brunette found that interesting, but didn't take it seriously, so joked, "Tell me beforehand so I can shield my eyes when you enter."

"Fine! Wait until school! I'm going to prove you wrong!" Joey ran out of the driveway on his pumps. Kaiba was not sure of what stunt Wheeler was going to pull, but he knew that he was going to laugh cruelly at him.

Joey felt a fire of determination in his chest. He was going to prove Kaiba wrong, and will never give up until he won!

._._._._.

On Monday morning, the students were piled in either the hallway or classroom. Kaiba was sitting at his desk reading a book like usual. Everyone kept their distance except for Tristan who approached him. "What do you want?" Kaiba snapped.

"Nothing. Just that Joey told me to tell you that he's ready to show you who's boss." The tanned male told him. Kaiba raised an eyebrow. The bell rang. "Oh, here he comes."

Everyone filled in the classroom except for Joey. Kaiba looked over to the geek squad to see the only female of the crew whispering something into Yugi's ear. The short teen looked nervous while the taller tan male grinned as if he was going to pull off a prank. Seto wasn't sure of what he was expecting until the door slammed open and marched in a blond wearing the female Domino highschool uniform.

Everyone looked to her, and all of their eyes widened when they realized of who it was. "Hello everybody. From now on you can either call me Joey or Josephine Wheeler! Or Jo for short! If anyone dares to bully me, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Joey Wheeler was wearing the pink and blue color coordinated highschool uniform that showed his spectacular legs that's mostly covered by his high knee-length white socks and brown shoes. He was also wearing long and straight hair extensions that reached midway his back, and makeup to make himself appear more feminine thanks to Tea's help in the bathroom. His own feminine voice was good as well.

The crossdresser then pointed at Seto directly. A fire burned in his amber eyes. "Eat your words Seto Kaiba, because I will win!"


	2. Chapter 2

Class time didn't change at all even if Joey was dressed as a female. Kaiba's reaction to Joey's transformation was the brunette dumbly staring at the crossdresser. Seto shook out of his daze when the teacher told Wheeler to sit down.

Kaiba had actually expected this to happen after their recent fight, but he had not expected the fool to do it at school. Joey was even more of an idiot than he thought, but damn did he look good in that uniform. Especially those legs. They weren't bony, beefy nor muscular. They were slender and looked soft to touch. Even if the blond didn't pull off the look, those legs were irresistible.

But he will never admit that. If Joey thought that he can make him admit to something so stupid to him, he was not giving him that satisfaction. And the brunette was interested in how far the blond was willing to take this ridiculousness. It would be something interesting outside of his work and dueling life.

The brunette glanced over at the crossdressing blond. Wheeler was supporting his head by his cheek against his fist, and was writing something in his notebook. It was definitely not notes since Joey wasn't glancing at the board. But those amber eyes looked over at him.

It took a moment for the stoic CEO to look away because he noticed that the male's eyes were especially golden brown today. It must be the mascara and eyeliner.

He cursed his curiousity because now the crossdresser was smirking sexily at him.

Joey so saw Kaiba looking at him!

_He totally thinks im hot! Who can blame him? I am Joey Wheeler and I can totally rule both sexes!_

_But its not gonna be easy convincing the asshole to admit that. Im gonna need proof, and Mai told me that the best way is seducing him. Bleh! I don't wanna, but if I don't, I wont get faster results, and graduation is coming up next year! No way that I can stay in touch with Kaiba for as much as I can! I need to step up my game or lose by default!_

Joey then went to action. He had to be subtle, but obvious in the same time to give the skeptical duelist a clue!

First he tried to think of something sexy to do. Mai gave him some tips but he could not work the courage to do those said tips.

As he was trying to store up the bravery, he wanted to cross his knees but the desk was stopping him so he twist his body to the side - unknowingly at Kaiba - and slowly crossed his legs like a woman since he's wearing a skirt. Kaiba didn't want to admit to himself of what he was expecting when the blond's skirt rose slightly.

Joey began to feel rather hot behind the neck so pushed his weave aside. It left his neck exposed and vulnerable. He tugged at his uniform bow lightly. He always hated these tie at the neck things. So suffocating. When he stopped tugging, he let his hand innocently travel down his body until it settled lazily against his side.

Kaiba watched this with great suspicion. He can't help it. He felt anticipation, but he quickly realized that he was acting silly. He returned his attention to the work that he was doing such as reading through proposals. He found the work to be tedious in comparison to waiting for Joey to act like a fool. But he was the boss so he moved to it.

The bell rang before Joey could try to subtly seduce the rich asshole. He groaned, but was grateful for the free time. His friends went over to his desk with excited smiles. He grinned at them. "So what'dya think?"

"I thought that you were going to do this one time, Joey." Yugi was concerned about his friend's new objective, but was sure that the school wasn't going to go to court about this, since the school had went to court before and lost, so students were allowed to dress as their decided gender except for when physical education is involved. The student must go to the locker room of their physical gender, but be allowed to change in a bathroom to avoid bullying.

"I was, but Kaiba said I looked terrible, so I'm doing this to prove that asshole wrong! Y'see, if he truly admits that I look good, then I win." Joey exaggerately imagined Kaiba getting on his knees and admitting that he actually looked darn good in a skirt!

"Then when is it decided that you lose?" Tea inquired.

"Graduation I guess but that's a whole year from now!"

"Graduation huh." The king of games understood why. And then weakly smiled at the thought of graduating. "I can't believe were almost going to be part of the real world. I plan on going to college while working at grandpa's shop."

The only girl in the group added, "And you guys already know that I got a dance scholarship for New York."

Tristan included, "And I'm going to enter the police academy. Duke is going to continue selling dice monsters, and is making a new game now."

Yugi asked his blond friend, "What are you going to do Joey?"

The crossdresser scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "I still hafta work to pay off my dad's debts like usual. But I got some of my own money and free money from the gov saved up to get through college and university. When I get enough dough, and experience, then I get to open my own restaurant business."

Tristan pointed out with a friendly wink, "Remember our deal, man. I get the best table of the house when you open up."

"Sure thing." The two shared a bro-fist.

Tea then bought the conversation back around. "So back to what we were discussing, how are you going to get Kaiba to admit that you're pretty."

The cross dresser gave an awkward smile. He didn't want to tell his friends that his plan was to seduce the CEO. That would be too weird even if they knew that he was gay. "Still working on that."

Just then Duke walked into their classroom. "No way! I thought you were just joking, Joey!" The long haired male looked directly at his chest. "You're not wearing any fake boobs, huh?"

"Nah. Everyone knows that I'm a dude, and I'm not doing this for the long run, so I don't see the point of runnin' around with fake boobies everywhere." He said all this with his female voice.

It was the first time for Duke to hear him talk like that. "Damn, you seriously sound like a chick! I know you're a guy, but now I have a hard time believing. Even with your flat chest." Joey grinned widely at his success of even tricking Duke into believing in his hotness. The dice master then questioned, "So are you only going to dress as a girl for school, or is this a whole day thing?"

"A whole day thing! I don't know when I might bump into Kaiba, and plus Mai hand me down a lot of her clothes and shoes, too! No matter what, I won't stop dressing up as a girl, until I win! Unless it's PE or I gotta go home, y'know."

All of his friends wondered of what Joey could possibly get out of all this hard work if he won, but they didn't think to hard on it since they knew that Joey wasn't either.

They day went on like no other day for crossdressing Joey, except for the stares from other people, but he knew that they were going to stop that sooner or later.

After school he couldn't go home to change into something else due to knowing his father would never improve his crossdressing even if he could explain it. So he used the male bathroom stall to change into a pair of woman jeans, a black tanktop that is covered by a black flower printed blazer, and a pair of black flats. He then checked his makeup and hair to make sure that he still looked in place and feminine.

He then exited with a bright smile that had a boy that was about to come in stop and stare at him. Joey gave a wink which made the poor boy flush.

The gang and him were going to spend time together at Duke's store to see the new upgrades to his game. "I still haven't chosen the right girl to advertise my new game."

Tea inquired, "Why does it have to be a girl?"

Duke explained, "Because it will reach out to a wide spread of people. If I were to show a guy, then girls or parents might think that it is boy exclusive, but my game reaches out to a kid of any gender. And I want the girl to be preferably around our age, so teenagers will want to buy it also."

"Then why not make Joey, your girl?"

"Shut up, Tristan." The young teenager growled.

Though Duke actually took it into consideration for a bit. "That wouldn't exactly work either considering that not many parents are accepting of crossdressing people. If kids could buy the game themselves, then it would be no big deal, but it's the parents' approval that I have to watch out for. But if Joey somehow became a positive symbol for kids to look up to on the media, then I might consider it."

"Whoa, whoa! I'm not gonna be your show girl!" Joey shouted. "And I don't get what's the big deal about a guy wearing girl clothes. It's not like I'm gonna attack someone out of nowhere. I mean I get that it's a bit freaky, but really? If you don't feel comfortable, then it's not my problem if I'm not doin' anything to ya."

His friends agreed and went on to the store.

._._._.

A few days passed, and Joey was nowhere close to getting Kaiba to say that he was pretty. He just couldn't work the nerve to seduce him. Everytime he tried, his stomach felt so weird, and somehow breathing was so much more relaxing to do just like that night at the party before he fell down the stairs.

When he tried to deny his body's reaction to flirting with Seto, his heart thumps hard against his ribs. One day on the roof, he sighed out sadly.

"What's wrong, Joey?" Yugi asked. He was sitting down on the floor against the roof's fence eating his lunch. His blond friend was standing and looking out through the fence's holes, but then ended up sliding down on his knees where he was positioned like a female in despair. His other friends with Ryou, who was absent yesterday but was filled in the details, were staring at him.

"It's my stomach. I don't know why, but everytime I try to work up the nerve to try to convince Kaiba that I'm hot, it feels funny."

Duke asked, "Like butterflies?"

"NO! Not like butterflies! I fuckin' hate 'im!" Joey didn't actually hate Kaiba and the others knew so didn't have to correct his statement. He sighed again in a defeated way, but he wasn't giving up even if he felt like this. "What I mean is that..." It was like butterflies. "Nnngh! I don't know! Tea, if you had no choice but to flirt with Kaiba, what would you do?"

The only girl in the group choked on her soda which left a nasty burn in her throat. She coughed and took the water that Ryou handed over to cool herself down. She then said in a harsh hoarse voice, "Joey Wheeler, what are you saying?! You mean that you planned on winning by seducing him!"

"What?!" Tristan and Yugi were both in great shock.

Duke, on the other hand, considered Joey's choice of action. "That actually makes sense. You can't make Kaiba actually admit to Joey being hot unless you used extreme measures."

Ryou commented, "Wow, it's just like you Joey to take such great risk of making Kaiba confess. I hope that he doesn't end up falling in love with you."

Tristan heard enough of this! "No one is falling in love with anyone!" He took Joey by the collar. "And what the fuck are you saying man! Are you so desperate to win that you'll degrade yourself to this!"

"Hands off ya creep!" Joey pushed him away hard enough to let go. "And I'm not degrading myself! I mean Kaiba's a dick, but if he thinks he's so much better than us, but can't help but falling for my ruse, then he's not so great after all!"

"But man..." His oldest friend frowned at his friend. "I know that you don't like losing to Kaiba, but sometimes you just got to know when to bail. I mean what if Kaiba does fall in love with you. Not that I see it actually happening, but hell, after everything we went through together, anything can happen."

"Then I'll reject him, and we're gonna graduate anyway!" Joey crossed his arms and looked away from them to the fence again. "He'll get to spend his whole time in his big company while we're doing our own thing, and all of this will just be all over as a bunch of silly memories."

"If it's just going to be a bunch of silly memories, then why bother go through it to the end?"

"I got nothing better to do." Joey responded childishly, yet no one argued.

Ryou suggested that they returned back to a peaceful lunch break. There was still some tension between Tristan and Joey, but that easily subsided when they were distracted by other topics to discuss about.

Then the bell rang, and they had to return to their seats in class. Joey saw that Kaiba was still sitting in his seat like usual. He wondered if the CEO ever suffered butt cramps from sitting so much. Joey also wondered if he ever exercised at all to have his body stay like that with such a handsome face.

Kaiba was handsome. Joey admitted that to himself, and didn't fall into denial. He wondered to himself if he actually had feelings for the bastard if his body would react so strangely due to thinking about him. The ex-gangster didn't like living in denial at all. But to actually have feelings for the male might make him change who he is and ruin the rough chemistry he already had, and make it become something worse. Otherwise they might stop dueling each other, and Joey still wanted to be given the chance to beat Kaiba no matter what. So he kept his feelings in a box, and be happy with how things are now.

._._._.

One weekend, Joey was exiting his apartment in a long brown trench coat. He went to a restaurant nearby to go into the female's restroom, so he could take off the trench coat, and reveal his yellow tanktop with a high-waist light blue flare skirt. He took out his handbag from the coat's inside pocket to use his makeup. He reminded himself to not wear too much. He was just going to put on some mascara, eyeliner and lipgloss. He then added a fake bun to his hair.

Joey winked at his pretty self before walking out with the trench coat hanging from his forearm. He felt like nothing was going to ruin his day, but then when he walked out of the vicinity, he surprisingly ended up seeing Kaiba walking down the sidewalk in a business suit. He must be attending business nearby.

The brunette noticed him, as well. He sneered, "Well if it isn't Wheeler? Are you seriously still trying to get me to admit that you look like a girl? I would say that you do, but I've seen more decent looking girls than you."

Joey growled. "Shut yer mouth, moneybags! I'm not afraid to beat ya up in a skirt!" He got in his offensive fighting position. He didn't have friends to hold him back from attacking, so had to hold himself back and settle with a glare of intimidation.

Seto knew that the blond puppy was holding himself back, and challenged this. "Hmph, I better shield my eyes, or else I might see something that I'll regret again. Are you still wearing panties under there?"

Joey blushed by the direct question. "So what if I am?! It's none of your business! I'm not lettin' ya get an eyeful this time unless it's when you're under me as I beat the crap out of ya!"

Seto tried not to think about that scenario. Not because it's most likely not to happen, but because he was trying not to envision the sight of Joey's lace covered butt being exposed to him. Instead, he chuckled, "Is that so? Aren't you supposed to act like a proper lady? They are far more attractive. Ha, as if you can pull something like that?"

"I can pull anything I set my mind to! But I'm not gonna pull some proper lady bullshit to make you admit that I look good in this!" The blond pointed a confident thumb at his chest. "So kiss my ass, Kaiba!"

"I thought you were doing this to persuade me. Not the other way around. Is it really me you're trying to impress, or do you just wanted a reason to dress like that? There's no shame in dressing like that. The only shame is your poor lack of self-confidence to dress as ridiculous as this. So stop wasting everyone's time by trying to convince them that you're doing this for me when you're clearly doing this for your stupid self, mongrel." Kaiba told him cruelly. Most people would feel verbally struck down, but Joey wasn't like most people.

Before he could speak, someone else spoke for him, "Excuse me miss, is this man bothering you?"

Joey looked to the stranger to see a non-sleazy looking old man. He quickly told him cheerifully, "Oh no! I'm fine! This asshole was just speaking pointless crap just because he has a crush on me!"

Kaiba's eyes widen at this lie. "Excuse me?"

Joey grinned evilly at him for a second before continuing to speak to the stranger, "Oh y'know! The whole bullying on the person you like type of thing! So there's nothing wrong here!"

The old person did find what Joey said to be plausible so told her to stay safe, and then gave a pity glance at Kaiba for his ineptitude to be honest about his feelings. Kaiba glared coldly at him as the man entered the restaurant. He then glared at Joey who grinned at him with those pretty pink lips.

Joey turned to the opposite direction that Seto was walking to with smooth swagger as he strutted away. This was his win! Kaiba knew that, too, but wasn't going to say anything as if he was a sore loser. He continued on his way, but that dog was going to get it eventually.

The blond took the bus to the Domino amusement park where he was going to play at the pool with everyone.

Yugi and Tristan was unsure of what to expect from someone like Joey who actually had a flower bikini ready for a popularity contest among girls before. "Do you really think that he will dress in one?" The shortest boy asked. They were already dressed in their own swimwear at the pool.

Tristan thought about it at first. The idea of his blond friend wearing a flower bikini was not pleasing at all. He groaned, "I hope not. He can pull off a dress or a skirt, but there's no way that he can pull off a bikini!"

Tea chided them, "Oh come on guys! Joey bought the cutest bikini!"

Duke pointed out, "You know this because you shopped together didn't you."

"Yup! It was so much fun! Ryou was there, too!" The girl was estatic to have had a great shopping day!

The platinum blond laughed in embarrassment. "It was quite...educational." He blushed a little which made all the other guys curious.

"Hey guys!" A familiar feminine voice called out to them. Tristan, Yugi and Duke's eyes nearly bulged out from complete shock. Joey was running to them in the cutest cyan blue ruffled bikini. The male's ruffled skirt bikini bottom helped hide the male parts while his ruffled bikini top made up for the lack of a chest. Joey still had on his fake bun and waterproof make up. "So what do you think?! Pretty hot huh!" Joey showed them different cute and sexy poses. "Ryou thought that I looked pretty hot!" The British teen blushed.

The other guys were not sure of what to make of this because Joey was hot, but this was too weird! The blond took their silence as a good thing, so looked to Tea who had a camera in hand. "Pose for the blog Joey!"

"Blog?" Yugi questioned. He didn't hear of this.

Tea nodded. The girl figured that she could spend her free time posting in her new blog filled with pictures and videos of Joey. So far the blog had over a hundred followers who commented of how they were shocked by how good their known duelist, Joey Wheeler, looked in drag.

This proved to the gang that Wheeler actually had some fans. Though not as big as Yugi's own. One picture of that cutie, and there's over a thousand comments, reblogs and likes on him from all around the world.

"Aren't you worried that you're dad will know about this?" Tristan questioned.

"No way, my dad doesn't pick up on what I do at all, or even knows how to use a laptop, so I'm safe." After taking pictures of Joey in a bikini, the blond grabbed Tristan by the arm, and teasingly whispered in his ear in a seductive tone, "Wanna swim?"

"Uh..." Tristan didn't want to sound eager or rude so was settled with bashful silence. Joey grinned, and had the two dive into the pool.

Duke shook out of his own shock, and shouted, "Hey wait for me!" He jumped in after them. Tea wanted to join so pulled both Yugi and Ryou into the pool.

They splashed at each other in the water, and then began playing volley ball. Not surprisingly, a lot of guys began joining into their game before sneakily surrounding both Joey and Tea. Yugi was not happy about this, but stayed silent.

Tea wasn't much of a fan for the attention even if the guys were flattering. But Joey seemed to soak in all the attention. It must be fun for him because he's tricking them into a lie. But fun has to end soon, since this was a fun day with their friends, not hot men. No matter how hot they look.

"Excuse us." She pulled Joey a good out-of-hearing distance away from them. "That's enough fun, Joey. They looked like they were ready to give you their phone numbers."

The blond gave a pleasant smile to the thought. "Days like these, I wish I was a girl, but they're not my type."

This peaked the actual girl's interest, "Oh, so what is your type?"

"Independent, smart, high self-esteem about himself, and I can't lie when I say that I dig skinny pale guys. And it doesn't hurt if they love to duel." Joey knew that he was describing a certain asshole, but those traits were really appealing.

"Sounds a lot like someone I know." The brunette knew someone who fit all those categories, but the high self-esteem part was way considerably too high. A seto Kaiba high.

"Really? Do I know him?" Joey was completely oblivious to who Tea may be referring to.

"He's currently too busy for dating," The future dancer supplied, "But hey, let's enjoy being single."

The crossdresser inwardly snorted, but also felt sorry for Yugi. The little squirt still hadn't worked the nerve to ask his childhood crush on a date between just the two of them for fun sakes.

After the fun day, Tea put up the new photos of the blond in his bikini. Mokuba saw the pictures since he was a follower. He was currently on his laptop while his older brother was doing work on his own laptop in his office.

"Whoa, big brother! Joey's in a bikini and actually look good in it!" Mokuba emailed the picture to his brother's laptop.

Kaiba was not in the mood to be bothered with the mutt he met earlier and embarrassed him by making him sound like some incapable lovestruck fool! But he was curious so took a look, and damn were those legs amazing. And damn did he look good being wet in that pool and lying against that lounge chair.

"Are you looking at them?" His little brother asked.

The CEO quickly exited them, and replied, "Of course not, Mokuba. I don't have time to waste on seeing the mutt doing degrading things."

"You do realize that I can see what you're doing from the window behind you right."

_Fuck. _He was even closing in on the picture. He needed to do damage control. "I was simply checking if this was actually the puppy."

"By closing in on his legs?"

_Double fuck_. "A lot of editing centers around the legs."

"Uh huh..." Mokuba didn't believe him, and Seto knew this. _Dammit_.

Joey was walking home alone. He was going to change at the restaurant first, of course. He wasn't surprised that five big looking guys from another school intercepted his way.

One of them said, "So the rumors are true. Tough guy, Joey Wheeler is dressed like some pansy!" They all laughed at him.

Joey kept his cool. Showing signs of agitation was a sign of weakness, so he coolly asked with his feminine voice, "Then would you guys be a bunch of gentlemen and let me walk home. It's getting pretty late."

Someone else spoke, "Oh whoa whoa whoa! Now that's freaky! How about you make some moaning noises for us, huh? Or do I have to duel you in submission?"

The blond giggled as he removed the fake bun from his hair to put it in the trench coat that he was still holding onto. He held his cool tone, "Nah. I think we should have a fair fight with our fists. It's far less humiliating." He threw the coat aside on the ground so it wouldn't get blood stains on it. "So how about it boys? Think you can take me in a skirt?"

The fight wasn't easy, but it wasn't too tough for someone like Joey who could handle more than ten guys in a fair fist fight. He was given a few lucky punches, but he came out as the ultimate victor in the end. He looked down at the unconscious guys on the ground with a small amount of satisfaction in putting them into shame. Though he admit that he was given a handicapped since he was wearing panties under his skirt. That would distract him, too, if he was attacked while given a peep show of them.

He turned around to get his coat, and then saw a person standing there with a camera. Being in a good mood, he gave his best star-like smile at the person as he put on a pose. He announced with his male voice, "Hey kid! Remember this!" He then said with his female voice as he gave a cute pose, "In a skirt or whateva! No one messes with Joey Wheeler, the third best duelist in the world!"

He then walked away without thinking of the consequences of what he did due to being arrogantly happy that day.

._._._.

The next day, Joey wasn't going with his friends, since he had a job to do during a morning shift. He worked at a restaurant as a cashier and was dressed as his female self. His manager allowed this since the woman was fond of him, and as long as there weren't any complaints from the costumers.

The teenager noticed that a lot of the restaurant's older customers were giving him disapproving, or bug-eyed looks like some of the kids as the day went on. He figured that someone among their friends knew that he was actually a male, and that they spread it around them. But it must be a wide range of friends because a lot of them were either leaving the place after getting their food as if they wanted to escape, or were whispering among each other while glancing or rudely pointing at him like a zoo animal.

Something was up, so asked his co-workers during lunch, but they weren't aware of anything solid. Joey figured that he must be paranoid. It's only been about a month since he's been crossdressing that everyone was bound to realize a thing or two about his appearance. Should he put on my makeup? No. That would put him in bad taste.

So he ignored all the looks and whispering until it was time fore the people working the afternoon shift to come in. He changed out of his uniform, and put on a white blouse with a big black waist belt, a short black pencil skirt, leggings and white mary janes. He also put on a blonde wig with curls at the bottom to look much more feminine instead of having the hassle of always putting on extensions.

He then went to his second job of dog walking. His clients didn't give him any strange negative looks since they already knew him, and was aware of what they considered to be his new phase as a teenager.

After doing that job, he had to go home to get ready for his third job where he had to take the nightshift at a store. Those shifts were dangerous, but he needed the money.

He wasn't worried about going home since his dad was at some bar drinking or gambling all of his own hard earned money away.

But when the blond entered his own place in his female outfit, he was greeted with a spontaneous punch to the face. "So de news was 'ight." Joey's heart stopped when he realized that his own dad was actually at the apartment and seeing him in this outfit. "My own fuckin' son-" The man stomped down hard on Joey's thigh. "Is a fuckin' fag!" The teen gasped at the pain, and then yelped when he was kicked at the face to have him on his back.

Joey glared at the old man who thought he was so big just because he towered over him. "Shut the fuck up old man! I don't need your fuckin' permission to do what I want!" He got onto his feet. He winced at the pain in his thigh, but stood straight despite the strain. "I'm the one even paying for this shit hole of a home!"

"Shut yer faggot hole!" His father grabbed his wrist hard, and dragged Joey into the apartment before throwing him recklessly to the bottle littered floor. "I dot I already taught ya of what happens to dirty faggots like you! They get-"

"Shut the fuck up old man!" Joey got on his feet, and was immediately hit with a glass bottle to the arm, and then slapped across the face so hard that the teen fell again. But the blond was used to this sort of abuse, so was able to wipe the blood falling down his chin. He was ready to get up, but then he felt a hand grip his blouse, and then felt the tug and heard the sound of tearing. "Dad?!"

The man explained, "Like I was gonna say! Bitches and faggots like you are jus' askin' to get it!"

Joey was horrified by what his father might be planning to do that he punched the man at the face to get on his feet. He dodged the glass bottle again, and then punched him right in the gut. He dodged the putrid vomit falling on the floor as his father hunched over holding his stomach. Joey took this chance to elbow him on the back. The man easily fell over onto his own vomit.

Joey spit at him before limping away to his own room where he packed all the stuff he needed including his own money before leaving the house and his father without a care. He had the trench coat on to cover his torn blouse.

He kept walking until he finally reached Tristan's house. He didn't want to impose on his friend, but he needed him right now. He limped to the door, and rang the door bell. The person to open the door was Tristan's mother. The woman was all smiles, but those smiles immediately fell when she saw him. "Oh my god! Joey! What happened to you?!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Taylor, but can I stay here for the night? I don't have enough to afford a hotel room." He requested. The woman immediately understood of what had happened to the male.

"Joey!" Tristan heard his mother's scream, and could see the bruises forming on the duelist face. "What happened?! Who did this to you?!" The brunette grabbed his upperarms which made Joey yelp in pain and move away from the touch.

The blond quickly responded with a request, "Sorry, but can I sleep at your room for the night Tristan?"

"Y-yeah, but what about your wounds?! You need to go to a hospital!"

"It's just a few bruises." Joey reassured him. "He didn't hit me anywhere that's vital."

Hearing that it was a single man who hit him, Tristan immediately understood the situation, and led him to his room where he put on medical guazes and such for the blond's face. Joey then removed the coat to reveal his torn blouse. The taller teen was shocked, but didn't question it since it must be a sensitive subject to cross.

Joey painfully stripped out of his clothes until he was left in just his panties, but he also changed that to his comfortable boxers. Tristan gave him three cold compresses for his thigh, upper arm, and black eye.

"Thanks man." The blond told him gratefully. He was lying against the head board of the teen's bed holding the compresses at their places.

Tristan was sitting at the edge of the bed facing his bedroom door. Rage was bubbling inside him. He didn't feel like he did anything right to be appreciated. Instead he said, "I guess you didn't see the news."

Joey let out a tired breath. "The old man said somethin' 'bout that."

"Did you happen to tell someone holding a camera to not mess with you in a skirt or not after beating some guys up on the way home?"

Joey faintly remembered that moment, but was too tired to strongly react. "Oh shit. Did that video go viral?"

"Yeah. It has over a million views since it was posted on youtube a few weeks ago. I didn't see the news until this morning. I figured that you must've seen it eventually, but I guess not."

Joey caught the tone of guilt at the back of his friend's throat. "It's not your fault man."

"But still...I could've at least given you the heads up or something!" Tristan held the back of his down in shame.

Joey sighed before crawling across the bed to hug his friend from behind. As guys, they'd keep their distance, but when Joey would dress up, he'd teasingly hold onto him. But now, was it manly or girly, they just didn't care. Joey wanted someone to hold because he was still shaken from having his blouse torn off.

Tristan didn't push him off for any reason. They stayed that way for awhile until Tristan was able to bring dinner to the room, and the two chat about other things to occupy their thoughts from less depressing or angry things. Eventually the two laughed, and the night wasn't so bad anymore for either of them now that they were together.

._._._.

The next morning, Joey woke up from the shining light from the window. The blond immediately knew that something was wrong because it's usually daybreak when he has to get up and get ready for school. He looked for Tristan to find the brunette nowhere, and the clock saying that he only had thirty minutes to get to school!

Joey jumped out of his bed to put on his school uniform. He didn't have time to put on his makeup, so put on a pair of sunglasses, and then rushed out of the house before Tristan's mother could talk to him. He sprinted as if his life depended on it.

It was a good thing that Taylor lived close, so he had time to at least put makeup on in the bathroom. He entered the men's bathroom without a second thought, and got out his makeup kit from his bag to cover up the bruises. But then he was interrupted when the bathroom door creaked open.

"Shouldn't you belong to the women's bathroom instead, idiot?" Seto questioned with his usual sneer.

Joey immediately looked away from both him and the mirror to not show his face. "What do ya want, Kaiba! I'm not ready yet, so get out!"

The CEO crossed his arms as he smirked. "As if you can make an improvement to your monkey looks already? It's already been a month, and I can clearly see from here that you are not progressing at all with your mediocre skills."

Wheeler really wanted to turn around and yell at him, but he couldn't let Kaiba see him like this. However, he wasn't given the choice when Tristan barged right in. "Joey! What the hell are you doing here?! Didn't my mom tell you to stay home?!" The brunette -in his blind anger- grabbed Joey's bruised wrist which made the blond yelp as he turned around to remove his hand.

Seto was surprised to see the dog's face being covered in black and blue injuries. Joey's black eye was not so bad as the night before, but it was still very evident of having been a painful hit to the face. And his cheek was the same. The taller teen also saw his bruised wrist that he identified to be a hand print and then noticed the bruising to the teen's thigh. The blond knew that the rich bastard noticed his extra injuries, but he didn't care about his opinion, or his stupid friend's worries at the moment! These were just bruises that he can handle!

He told brown-eyed brunet off, "Leave me alone Tristan! This is nothing!"

His friend growled, and then grabbed the blond's collar. "See here-"

"Joey!" Yugi rushed in. "What are you doing here?! Tristan told me about what your dad did-"

"It's nothing new!" Joey barked, and made Tristan let go. He saw Yugi immediately clamp his mouth shut out of fear. Guilt settled into the blond's chest because he didn't like yelling at someone like Yugi who was strong, but also sensitive at heart. Yet, what happened to him was definitely nothing new, so he shouldn't be told of what to do! He shouted at all of them, "I'm fine! Just let me put on my makeup before class!"

Tristan's balled fists tightened so hard that they shook. "Tch!" He exited the room. Joey looked to the mirror and took out his concealer to start with his black eye first.

Yugi spoke to him as a good friend, "Are you sure that you're alright Joey? The bruise on your thigh looks really bad."

The blond sighed through his nose. "I'm alright Yug'. It's nothin' new. I know that's not a good thing, but I'm not letting a few bruises keep me away from living my life the way I want it."

"C-can I help?" The tri-colored hair teen stuttered because he tried to hold back his tears, but they poured out of his eyes without any effort at all.

Joey smiled sweetly at the little guy. "Yeah." He ruffled his strange hair. "Can I copy your homework after I'm done?"

"Y-yeah. I-I'll get it out right now!" Yugi walked out of the bathroom after brushing his tears away.

Seto still stood in that bathroom staring at the blond. That blond asked, "Want somethin' Kaiba? I'm all ears."

The blue-eyed male closed his eyes for a moment, and then turned away. "Hmph." Was all he said before exiting.

Then Joey came out of the bathroom with a clear beautiful face that looked like it wasn't harmed at all. He was also in a chipper mood as if he wasn't assaulted last night. His friends weren't sure if this was healthy, but Joey had always been living a hell of a life that they shouldn't be surprised. Yet, they felt like they've been blind-sided this whole entire time in their friendship of how bad it was for their honey eyed duelist.

The day went normally, but Joey knew that Tristan was still miffed about this morning, and Yugi felt unhelpful despite having provided his homework. So he cheered them up by teasing them by making flirtatious advances or making them angry about something else out of nowhere. The two acted like such baffled blushing idiots.

Seto Kaiba stayed at his seat doing his work. Yet, his mind was filled with this morning. He admired Joey's strength to not self-pity himself, but he was also bothered that his father dared hurt him that way. Gozaburo was not his father by blood, so he couldn't exactly empathize with the blond. Not that he wanted to. But he couldn't stop the anger bubbling in him. He wanted to do something about this...After everything they went through together, why not do a single act of kindness for once? But what sort of act should be done?

He was given an answer during afterschool when Joey left. His group of friends stopped him from exiting the school so that they could talk.

Yugi spoke for the group, "Kaiba, please tell Joey that he's pretty, so that he can stop dressing like a girl!"

Seto arched an eyebrow at this request. "And pray tell of how that's going to change anything. I doubt that him changing hobbies will make him and his father come to a reconciliation."

Tristan explained, "It's so that he won't get hurt again and again! Joey is becoming more popular by the second, so is making even more enemies. He was never a popular guy with other schools since he was in a gang before, and this sort of thing could become an excuse for the whole lot of them to come after him."

"Please Kaiba," Tea reasoned, "We just don't want Joey to get hurt anymore. Dueling is one thing, but getting into a serious fight is something else entirely."

That was true. But Seto wasn't going to play along with them. "If your poor excuse of a duelist wants to be targeted, then it's his problem. Not mine." He walked past them.

"Why you-" Tristan was stopped by Duke's raised arm. The dice duelist said, "Leave him. He's right. This is Joey's own problem. We already warned him, and the only one who can convince Joey to give up is himself."

"But we're not asking him to give up!"

"But that's how it sounds like to him. Remember, Joey did this to win a game against Kaiba. And if there's anything Joey will never do, is lose without giving his absolute all. Whether the objective may be big or small, nothing will change his mind unless it endanger us, too. We may be friends with him, but none of whoever's coming after Joey will target us since it's easy to lure him into a trap."

"But that's why we need to try everything to make sure that doesn't happen! We can't always be there for him when he's being beaten for an inch of his life! Or worse..." Tristan remembered Joey's torn blouse.

Seto caught onto that fading sentence before entering his limo to go to work. He knew what Tristan meant by his last words, and it pierced his heart to think of such dark images.

Days went by, and Joey had bought his own apartment through the permission from his mother. Whatever happened to his father was not known or asked about. It was to simply be left in mystery.

For the bullying problem, the teen had gotten in trouble with other gangs, so was getting more bruises and cuts. Eventually the stubborn dog had to go to a hospital, and miss days at school to make up for work days in order to pay for his living expenses. Tristan tried to be by the blond's side, but Joey told him off that he had his own life to live, and if he's going to follow him around, it better be for a good and different excuse. Yugi, Tea, Ryou and Duke weren't fighters so they can do nothing but try to be the voices of reason. Not even his little sister, Serenity, could convince him to stop. He convinced her instead that he had to do this.

Seto would've ignored all this, but he's been berated by Joey's friends almost every day, that he was at school, to do something. Nothing they did could sway the idiot from stopping this game between them. It was all up to him.

The blue-eyed duelist did not feel responsible since the honey-eyed male put this on himself, but then he could no longer ignore that Joey was becoming too ridiculous when he arrived at the school with crutches after spraining his ankle during a fight, and using the makeup to hide his sleep deprivation. It would work if the blond wasn't sleeping or dozing off almost everyday at school that the teachers began questioning of why he bothered coming at all. Eventually the teen developed a high fever where he fell unconscious spontaneously from overworking himself.

But Joey didn't heed the warnings of the school's or hospital's nurse to take better care of himself. He couldn't have the luxury to do that unless he wasn't attacked on the way to wherever he had to go.

Kaiba would ignore this at home and work, but then Mokuba would tell him about the put up videos of Joey being in a fight. The news was keeping tabs on these videos, and it seemed to have spark other news channels to discuss the issues with this. Yet no one was known to be arrested for assaulting the blond since he wouldn't press charges. The reason being that the stupid duelist think that they had already been punished and humiliated enough.

Kaiba had enough.

._._._.

"You're beautiful."

"What?"

Joey was standing and looking bug-eyed at the CEO who had surprisingly told him during lunch to meet him at the side of the school where no one could see them together. He jokingly thought that the brunette was finally going to confess to him, and was now completely surprised to have been given one so bluntly.

Seto repeated with his stoic voice, "You're beautiful. You win. Congratulations."

Joey blinked at him, and then replied, "Fuck you, Kaiba." This answer completely caught the taller teen off guard. The cross dresser pointed an indignant finger at him. "Those guys told you to tell me that so I can stop dressing up didn't they?!" Seto knew that he should have kept a poker face, but he showed a moment of weakness which the shorter teen caught on to. "Well, I don't need any of this bullshit! I can handle myself, and won't have some half-ass confession stop me! I'll win when you get that stick out of your ass, and tell me with much more endearment that I'm hot! Not this dramatic 'you're beautiful' bullshit!"

Joey turned away angrily. He added, "I bet if you said that to one of your fangirls, they'd be head over heels, but I'm not one of them, so I'm sayin' it like I see it! You're like a fuckin' damn robot with no romance or any other fuckin' emotion at all in your egotistical selfish heart or yours! You're beautiful?! Ha! As if I can believe it with that face! If you really want me to stop, then get some heart or a fuckin' acting coach cuz I'm outta here!"

But he stopped, when Kaiba declared, "You're right." Joey squinted his eyes at him as he wondered if he was being deceitful. The brunette projected his voice to explain, "You're an idiot. Can't you see that your life is falling apart because of this! You're already a worthless nobody as Joey Wheeler! But now you're like the annoying stain on my favorite coat that I can't get off unless I put acid on it! Let go of this meaningless game already so everyone else can have a peace of mind!"

Joey showed a face of pain and guilt the he didn't hide. He knew that what he was doing was making his friends needlessly upset. But he knew what he was doing. "It started out as a game, but now it's something else entirely." He looked straight into Kaiba's eyes. A fire flowing out of control in his own. "If people think that they can kick me down just because I chose to dress like this, then they have another thing coming! Joey Wheeler won't back down just because it's too hard! You don't know this Kaiba, but others are looking up to me to give them strength to be who they are and look the part!"

"You don't even know these people! Think about it you fool! You're not some great catalyst who can inspire the world to change!"

"That's your fuckin' opinion which, for your information, I don't give a fuck about! My friends may be worried, but they understand that I'm doing this for something bigger than myself. So don't try to stop me, you prick!"

With that, Joey strutted away with determination. Kaiba just watched him go, and then couldn't help a small smile as he followed since it was the shortest way back to the class. The blond never ceased to act like a bigger fool, and that wasn't such a bad thing.

Back at the classroom, the two returned to sitting at their desk. Yugi and the others could immediately deduce that nothing changed. Kaiba's attempts were futile. But that may not be a bad thing for what Joey might bring to the future.

._._._.

A/N: Sorry for the lack of flirting but how do you flirt with SETO KAIBA? HOW?!

I keep forgetting that Ryou goes to the same school, and I could've just made him move to Britain, but here he is.


	3. Chapter 3

"I like this one." Joey held up a green blouse for Tea to look at. The two friends were shopping at the mall together. But they were only window shopping since Joey didn't have cash, but that didn't stop the the two from having fun together.

"Its cute, Jo. I think I have a similar one to it. You can borrow if you like."

"Thanks! I'll remember that next time I don't have anything good to wear." The blond put the blouse back on its hanger. And then the two decided to go get some yogurt.

The cashier immediately recognized Joey Wheeler. "It's you! My daughter is a big fan of yours! You standing up to those bullies gave her the confidence to go back to school and stand up to her own!"

The duelist beamed, "Well tell her that Joey Wheeler is proud of her!"

The woman behind the counter grabbed one of the unused yogurt cups and a sharpie. "Can you write on this cup to prove her that I saw you! She will tell from your written notes in your inspirational videos that you've been posting up! They help my daughter learn how to fight and remain positive! You're really an inspiration unlike how the media portrays you as some violent weirdo!"

"Eh, it's no problem." Joey slightly blushed from being acknowledged in a positive matter.

Tea smiled happily at the exchange. After Joey wrote down a message and his autograph on the cup, the two sat down at a table. The brunette admitted, "I wish Yugi and Tristan would see you like this. Instead they're clammed in their little shell trying to forget what you're fighting to do. Which is weird since it should be kind of the other way. It's usually those guys who would support you to fight on while I'm wallowing in doubt about all this."

"It's different now since those two can't understand. It's not me being a punk or me being a duelist, so they don't know what to do. But I keep telling them to not worry, and let me handle this since I know how."

Tea sadly smiled at that. "I've been trying, too. At first I was against this, but then you gained a lot of followers. Some were negative - I flagged them out -, but a majority of them were positive. They support your decision to continue fighting to dress how you want. Of course, violence isn't a good thing, but they see it as self-defense since I made it clear on the blog that you were dragged into those fights since it's obvious that a group of those guys won't let you through so easily. I showed them to Tristan and Yugi to show that what you are doing is important and is giving other people strength, but they're not listening."

"Of course not, Tea. From how long I've known Tristan, it made him more upset than proud, since he thinks the worse of me."

"That can't be true!"

"But it is. Tristan only sees what's clearly in front of him, and he only supports when he's convinced that there's a winning chance or if anything makes sense. But this sort of thing doesn't make sense to him, and it won't as long as he's being pig-headed like usual." Joey explained, and Tea couldn't disagree. "And for Yugi. He just can't stand the idea of me being hurt constantly for something like this. He just wants it to end, but he should know better by now that it can't end easily like it would be through a card game. He can't see how this ends which is why he's afraid."

Tea understood. She sighed. "At least Duke and maybe Ryou politely understands. And that means our friendship isn't completely over."

"I'm sorry Tea."

"What?" The brunette rewinded in her mind of what she said, and then quickly corrects herself. "No! It's not your fault Joey! I'm on your side! And Tristan and Yugi will just have to suck it up!"

Having heard the girl, who was always the one in doubt, sound pump up, it made Jeoy smile and feel like what he was doing wasn't a complete loss.

"Excuse me, are you Joey Wheeler?" A man in a suit asked.

._._._.

In the middle of an ally, boys were falling one by one on the floor by a fist or a heel to the face. Joey was once again called out to another fight. It's been over two months since he started dressing up, and the fights seemed to be finally dying down. The blond knew that eventually these gang ups would become less common eventually. It was just a matter of time and persistence.

"Joey!" Yugi called out. The two were supposed to meet at the movie theater, but the spiky haired teen had been waiting for over half an over for his friend. He knew that something must be wrong, so asked around until he finally found him.

"Oh hey, Yug!" Joey greeted with a happy tone before stomping down on a guy who was trying to get up. "Just cleaning up some trash over here! Sorry for being late. Let's go, we'll still be able to make it to the movie."

"But you're hurt!" It's not a rare sight, and that's what sickening of seeing Joey's injuries. It wasn't on his face, but his knuckles were bruising.

"Nothing a pack of ice won't do." The blond walked over to the purse, that he set down before the fight, to take out an ice pack. "Can't go out without bein' prepared."

This didn't make the shorter teen feel better. "Do you like fighting, Joey?" Yugi knew that he sounded accusing, but he hated fighting and violence the most.

Joey was aware of this, so wasn't angry. "It's not what you think, Yug'." He looked his friend in the eye without any hesitation in them. "These guys were picking on this squirt, and I let them turn their attention to me. So these guys weren't hittin' me cuz I'm dressed like this, but they knew who I was. After taking down the best gang around here alone, they thought that if they beat me, then they would be considered number one. Heh. But they were a piece of cake!"

"I see." Yugi did believe that Joey was a great fighter, and he should stop worrying now since it seemed that the blond was getting better since the fights were becoming less and less, but he still wished that none of this happened.

The two of them were ready to go back to the movie theater, but then they were stopped by another gang of teenage boys with nothing better to do. "Another win for you, huh, Joey."

"Diesel." Joey said his name with venom. Diesel Kane was his ex-gang leader back at middle school. The two met again during his highschool freshmen year when he began being friends with Yugi, and the two didn't split on good terms at all.

"Nice to know that you still remember me." Him and his gang chuckled ominously like every stereotypical bad guy.

Joey tried not to roll his eyes. He cannot believe that he was a part of their pathetic group. "What the hell do you want? Shouldn't ya be in prison or somethin'?"

"And shouldn't you be arrested for looking like a drag-wearing prositute?"

"Oh, you'd know how they look like considering your mom's one. She might be a woman, but she definitely didn't have the looks for it which is why you look so damn ugly." Joey hit a soft spot on the gang leader, but the man kept his cool.

But he was clearly agitated, "At least my mom didn't abandon me!"

"Pfft. Old wounds, old man."

"Old man?! That's-" When he stepped forward, Yugi immediately jump in with his arms spreaded out to prevent him from getting any closer.

"Leave my friend alone!" He cried out despite the fear being instilled into his spine. Yugi found himself pulled off of the ground by the collar.

"Don't get in my way!"

"Let him go, ya creep!" Joey punched the gang leader down to the ground. The man had let go of Yugi in the midst of the painful impact to the face. The smaller teen landed on his bottom while Joey got on top of Diesel to give him an extra punch before the man pushed him back and then kicked him in the gut to farther their distance.

Joey cringed as he gasp for air. He knew that that was going to bruise, but not to badly that one of his organs might have been damaged.

Diesel got up to further the job, but one of his members called out to him, "Boss!" That person whispered, "Remember why we came here!"

Diesel glared hotly at that member for interfering with his concentration, but he cooled himself off, and then declared, "We came here to give you a message. Come to the city's docks tomorrow afternoon: two sharp!"

Joey got up from the ground, and acted like his stomach wasn't wanting him to bend over to ease the pain. "And why would I go?"

"Heh. A lot of gangs are sore about losing to you, so if you do not show up without the cops or your friends showing up, then they're going to barge into the school and cause straight up chaos." The male pointed out his thumb and finger at the blond. "If you know what I mean?"

Yugi gasped, "No Joey! This is obviously a trap! You can't go!"

Joey ignored him, "You would really go so low just to fix your already broken pride! But I can't take the chance. I'll be there!"

"Good." They turned to leave. Joey then saw something at the corner of his eye, and picked it up.

"Hey asshole! You forgot your phone." The blond chucked the device at the taller man who caught in, and then left.

Yugi was horrified by his best friend's reckless choice. "But Joey-" He tried to be a voice of reason, but the taller male stopped him.

"Yug'." He said. "Don't tell the rest of the gang."

"But-"

"What Diesel said might be true, and he's old enough to buy guns both legally and illegally. I knew that eventually something like this might go down, and I have to face it like a man." Joey said with an inspiring voice, but Yugi was not having any of that.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING?!" Yugi cried out painfully. Tears fell down his cheeks. "I'm trying to be supportive and reasonable, but what the fuck Joey?! You think I'm going to be fine with you going into a trap that might kill you alone!"

"But Yu-"

"Shut up! Shut up! You're gaining nothing from going into this trap alone! I thought that we're supposed to be a team, but these last few months, you've been acting like you were alone since your dad figured out about this! Don't you think that this is enough?!" The teen fell on his knees. He didn't know of what else to do to convince Joey. "If...If Atem was here, he'd..." But he wasn't with them anymore.

Joey heard his last words, and now it donned on him of how much it really did hurt Yugi. The teen was the strongest duelist, but he was truly sensitive of his friends' pain. The blond then wondered of how many times he made Yugi cry when no one was looking, and Atem wasn't there to comfort him.

But he had his own goal to think about. "I'm sorry Yug'."

The king of games was shocked by Joey's half-hearted attempt of consideration to his own feelings. He immediately stood up when he saw the blond walking away. "Then if my words won't reach to you, then let's have a duel!"

Joey looked back at his best friend. "Huh?"

Yugi thrusted a finger at the him. "You heard me! A duel! If I win, you don't go! But if you win, then I'll keep silent!"

Joey considered this, and then replied, "Alright then! Let's duel!"

The two didn't want this duel to go public, so they met at the school's gym. It was a weekened so there was no school, and there happened to be no atheletes training. The two got out their duel disk and started the duel.

The two of them started out strong, and pulled out everything they got from their cards like they did back at duelist kingdom. Both of them pushing each other to their very limit.

In the midst of the battle, Joey successfully takes down one of Yugi's strongest monsters. The duel king asked, "Why do you want to fight with Diesel so badly?! I thought you left all that behind!"

"People's lives are on the line, Yug! You heard of what Diesel said!"

"We can call the police to protect the school!"

"Not good enough!"

Yugi inwardly growled and then set off one of his spell cards which had Joey's recent attack be a bad move, and sent the blond's life points down. But Joey had a comeback to the attack which gave him the advantage to the field.

The duel continued on, until Yugi and Joey had their favorite monster on the field. Dark magician against red eyes black dragon. Joey was down to two-hundred life points while Yugi only has five hundred life points.

"It's pointless, Joey! I will win this so I can protect you! Because you're my friend! I have my black magician destroy your red eyes black dragon!"

"Ugh!" Joey was now only one-hundred life points now.

"You're left wide open Joey! There's nothing you can do to take me down! But for now, I'll put one card face down!" Yugi put that one card down.

Joey sighed out. "Sorry Yug', but I'm going to win this duel. I know that you dueled your hardest to stop me, but it's not good enough. That's because I'm going to play this! Mystical space typhoon to destroy your one face down card! And then I play Monster Reborn to bring back red eyes black dragon from the graveyard. And then I activate my other spell card, graceful dice!"

The dice was rolled to a six which gave Red eyes black dragon three-thousand attack points. Joey attacked, and won the duel. Yugi was completely shocked at having lost. He did not expect Joey to pull out that first spell card.

The tri-colored teen was so shocked that it was hard to breathe. He fell on his knees as his tears began flowing out, and he didn't know of how to stop them.

"YUGI STAND UP!" Joey shouted. His very words echoing hard throughout the gym. "Stop being a baby and stand up!"

"Bu-But I lost! I couldn't protect you! I'm not the king of games when I can't even-!"

"Don't you understand Yug'! It means that you're not supposed to stop me. Not when your mind wasn't even in the right place. You thought that you were fighting for me Yug', but really you were fighting for yourself. You were so worked up with the idea that you'll lose me like Atem but worse." That put a ping of pain in the shorter duelist's heart. "But that's not going to happen buddy." Joey's strong words had Yugi look up to him. "We've been in a life or death situations before, and I know of what Diesel is trying to pull. And I know of what to do to keep myself safe. And you know why?"

Yugi was lost.

"It's cuz duel monsters taught me of how to pull a trick or two up my sleeve."

"But duel monsters is a game! It's-"

"Listen to what you're saying Yug'! You sayin' that is like you saying that everything we went through because of or with dueling was all a lie! But it's the truth! And you know what made me get through all those and learn from them, it's by you supporting me all the way even if you thought it was hopeless. So come on Yug'. I need you now to believe in me."

"But what can that do?" Yugi stubbornly held onto his doubt.

Joey approached him. "In case things don't go down the way it's supposed to be, knowing that you believe in me to come back to you, will encourage me to get out of whatever the situation is." He knelled down with a look of confidence that possessed no such thing as doubt. "And I'm gonna come back to you, because I love you."

Yugi felt his pained heart be filled with something that flowed out into the rest of his chest, and it wasn't a bad feeling. It felt like it was cleansing his own body from all the stress that was put into him. He held onto Joey to help ease the rush of his body. The blond held the little teen close in his arms until the small guy passed out.

The two lie against the gym's wall where Yugi was using Joey's shoulder as a pillow. Tea entered the gym, and saw the affectionate display of her two friends. She also saw their duel disk that was attached to their forearms.

She whispered, "Did you two duel?"

Joey whispered back, "Yeah, and Yugi lost."

"He lost?!" Tea quickly covered her mouth. Her words echoed for a second. The teens looked to the sleeping Yugi who did not stir. They were both relieved.

Joey placed his finger against his shushing lips. "Shhh."

The girl apologetically frowned. "Sorry, but did you duel because Yugi..."

"Yeah," Joey nodded. He thought briefly of whether keeping a secret of Yugi was right or wrong, and chose that it was right. "And now he has to keep his mouth shut about this."

"Does he know the full story?"

"No. And it's better that it stays that way for now. It'll only make him worried more."

The teenage girl wanted to voice out against this, but she knew better. "...I guess I can't scold you with a friendship speech, since you're right." She forced a smile, and bought both of them home.

The next day, Yugi spent most of his day in his room where he was playing a video game to distract him, but he was losing the game due to losing concentration every now and then. He looked at his hand that held the red eyes black dragon card. Joey had left this with him on his nightstand after having bought him home.

It was a message for Yugi to have faith in him, and the teen infused the card with as much faith as he could muster.

Later, the small teen fell asleep against the side of his bed while he was in the middle of looking through his duel cards. He then heard his telephone ring. He was immediately woken up, and as he shifted himself, he felt a twinge of discomfort in his shoulders. He got up and answered the phone. He groggily greeted, "Mutou residence. Yugi speaking."

"Hey Yug. Did I wake ya?" A familiar male voice told him.

That immediately knocked out any feel of discomfort or sleepiness in the young man. "Joey! Are you okay?! Where are you?!"

"Calm down! I'm fine and at the hospital."

"The hospital?! How bad is it? Wait, I don't want to know! I'm just glad that you're okay. You are okay, right?" Yugi heard the blond said that he was fine, but exactly how far did the 'fine' go exactly.

"Yeah, Yug'. Perfectly fine. Except for some bruising, but not too serious where I need surgery or nothin'. I just have to stay in the hospital for about a week before I can return to school and work." Joey sounded cheerful, so Yugi shouldn't be worried at at.

But the teen couldn't stop himself from shedding a tear out of relief for his best friend. "I-I'm so glad. I'm sorry, Joey."

"Hm? For what Yug'?"

"For not being there for you from the start. I shouldn't have doubted you."

"Hey, there's no need to apologize. I guess I would also be on the fritz if any of you guys were in my situation. But I'm Joey Wheeler. These sort of things are a breeze! And you don't have to worry anymore. Diesel and his gang got arrested for owning illegal weapons, and attempted murder as well as arson since one of the buildings went on fire cuz of him. We won't be seein' him for a while. But that's not the best part."

"Best part?"

"It's never a secret to other gangs about how another gang got arrested, and knowing that Diesel got schooled by a guy wearing a skirt, those gangs won't bother me anymore cuz messin' with me and losin' ta me will make them an even bigger laughing stock than when I beat them before. So..." Joey let silence hang in the air for a moment which he knew made the little teen anxious. He then finished with, "No more fights."

Yugi breathed in a cool fresh of air as if he's been breathing through a straw this entire time. "Y-you rea-really mean that?"

"Yeah, Yug'. I used to be a gang member, so I know how they think, so I'm absolutely positive."

Now Yugi had a whole different reason to cry out streams of tears. "Tha-that's great. That's awesome! I'm going to see you right now! Which hospital are you at?"

"Sure, and call the rest of the gang."

"Of course!"

._._._.

Seto Kaiba was continuing to do work like the workaholic that he was. He heard his phone ring, and picked it up before the second ring without looking away from the screen. His brain hitting the pause button before processing his words, "Who is this?"

"Kaiba! It's Yugi!"

"I'm busy."

"I know, but I just want you to know that Joey's in the hospital."

"Wheeler?" Kaiba was worried for a moment. He secretly kept tabs on Joey's blog that Tea worked on, and the latest knews of the blond was a picture of those two shopping at the mall. The blond had on a cropped denim jacket that covered over a cute flower pattern dress, and a pair of gladiators. Remembering that picture almost fooled the Kaiba corp owner into believing that Joey to end up in a hospital next was almost impossible to have happened. But this was Wheeler that they were talking about. "What did that baffoon do now?"

"He got in a really tight spot against his former gang back in middle school, but he's fine. I just wanted to ask if you would like to visit him. I can give you the name."

"Not interested." That was a lie, but he was not going to suddeny show any concern for the dog. He hang up his phone reluctantly, and then searched through his computer of which hospital kept his blond, and see the medical records.

It seemed that his puppy was in a rather rough fight. His stomach, wrists and his right cheek was heavily bruised, but there was no internal or external bleeding except for the cut to the cheek. Other than that, Joey was going to be completely fine except for the scar left on his cheek.

Even if the results were positive, Kaiba was not happy with it at all. Joey got these injuries because he was most likely in a situation where he was outnumbered and without a weapon to defend himself if those bastards were to have any with them.

Just then his little brother walked in and saw the stern glare he had pointed at his laptop. "Is something wrong Seto?"

"No, but just so you know, Wheeler's in the hospital?"

Mokuba gasped. "Why?! Who hurt him?!"

"Apparently his old gang back when he was more of a punk."

"Is he alright?"

"Yes. He only suffered minor injuries." Seto shortly wondered if he should not have used the word 'minor' since the injuries may not require surgery, but they weren't a simple scratch.

His younger brother sighed out his troubled feelings. "That's a relief. I should go see him. Do you want to come, Seto?"

The blue-eyed brunette considered this for a moment. He wanted to see the blond to see his injuries himself, and then give him better medical care if he was satisfied with how the injuries were being dealt with. But Yugi and the others must be at the hospital now. Instead he replied, "I have too much work on my hands. You can go if you like." Not that Mokuba couldn't go if he wanted, too, without his permission. But certainly make his older brother know before doing so.

The black haired teen didn't believe him, but he wasn't going to chide him for it since Seto might actually be too busy to visit. "Right. I should probably get him a get well gift. What do you think, Seto?"

"If it's for the dog, then getting him food should suffice as a gift. Hospital food is deplorable." Or so he believed by rumor. He never had to go to a hospital building before. If he needed any type of doctor, he will have them come to him. "Perhaps a chew toy while we're at it."

"Uhm..." Mokuba didn't bother to question his brother's choices. He knew that his older brother cared about Yugi and his friends to a certain point, but how he shows his affections for Joey was a little dog obsessive. He just played along.

._._._.

Joey was on his hospital bed where he was surrounded by his friends: Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Duke and Ryou.

He explained the good news of what he told Yugi to everyone. Everyone was really relieved to hear it, though Tristan was still peeved about the whole thing. He made his unsettleness clear. "You know, this all wouldn't have started in the first place if you hadn't started this stupid farce in the first place."

"Tristan!" Tea yelled at him! She could not believe his attitude! "We are here to support Joey to recover as soon as possible! We don't need your negative attitude here!"

"It's okay Tea." The hospital patient told her reassuringly. "I made all of you guys worried, but I can't say that I regret that I'm doing this. I just hope, Tristan, that you'll understand someday of why I'm doing this."

The tall brunette wasn't happy to hear that. He usually understood Joey, so this was irritating to him. He needed time alone. "Right. I need some air." He walked out of the room just as Mokuba was going to enter it with a gift basket and three bento boxes being held in a plastic by another hand.

"Did I walk into something?" The younger Kaiba asked when he saw the grim yet tired face on Tristan.

Joey happily replied, "Nah! Just Tristan bein' Tristan. He'll get over it." His eyes brightened at the sight of his gifts. "So is that for me? You shouldn't have!"

"Yeah!" Mokuba placed them down on the overbed table. "I thought that you would appreciate some real food if you can eat them. The basket is from my big brother though."

"Your big brother huh." Joey looked at the foggy plastic. The blond felt happy to have gotten something from the cold hearted bastard. That sort of thing was never known to happen. But despite the charity, Joey knew something was up. He suspiciously glared at the opaque plastic. "I bet its something dog related." He tore the plastic apart, and in the sky blue basket, there was a pair of golden dog ears and paws, a big bone chew toy, dog food approved for human consumption, a dog bowl, a red collar with a leash, and a squeaky burger toy.

Joey's eye twitched. "I fuckin' knew it!" He growled while everyone else was laughing. "'Ey! It's not funny! That Kaiba! When I'm out of this bed, he's gonna get it!"

Mokuba scratched the back of his head. He felt a bit responsible for the basket since he helped Seto arrange and order it. He apolgized in both their stead, "Sorry, but Seto actually put a lot of thought into this gift."

"Huh?" Everyone was somewhat shocked. Kaiba plus hurt Joey which equals giving kind gift did not apply to their minds.

The younger Kaiba continued. He knew that revealing the truth wouldn't hurt Seto's reputation. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but Seto was actually worried about you, Joey. I didn't had to ask about you. He just flat out told me about what happened and knew that I would visit you, and then ordered all of this for you. He acted like he didn't want to come see you, but I could tell that he did."

Everyone in the room was staring at the kid before almost all of them smiled warmly at the special rare discovery of Seto's true heart.

Joey, on the otherhand, looked at his dog gifts with a new perspective. A blush creeped across the bridge of his nose. He scowled at his feelings. It wasn't the right time to burst out yet! He groaned. "That damn prick. He really needs to grow some balls and visit me next time! But not til I have my makeup on so you betta heads me up Mokuba if he's comin. A'right?"

Mokuba nodded. "I'll try my best!"

Duke then asked, "So you're still planning to play your little game with Kaiba?"

"Hell yeah!" Joey pulled his fist up midair. "Now that I got those jerks off my back, I can go at this at full throttle!" He punched straight out to display his full determination.

Tea gave a wink as she humorously asked, "Which means you're gonna ask him on a date, right?"

Joey flinched! "Nngh?! No!" He denied vehemently, but his face was bright red. A clear sign of reluctantly liking the situation to happen. "I'm gonna do something else!" He didn't know of what to do.

Mokuba generously suggested, "Maybe you can come to another Kaiba corp party. You looked really good the last time."

Joey remembered that he did, but beauty wasn't enough to get him into Seto Kaiba's party. "Yeah, but I doubt your brother will let me stay."

"Why not come as Alexir De Gon's date." The kid didn't forget of who started this whole thing. "He can't kick you out if you're his date. It'd bring bad publicity if he did since Alexir is a somebody this time."

Joey ignored the indirect insult. He ranked second place in duelist kingdom! Fourth place in Battle City! And one of the top eight at the grand championships! Where was the respect?!

The blond next remembered the actor, and he hadn't heard from his since they didn't exchanged phone numbers. He was glad that they didn't since Joey didn't hold any romantic feelings for his favorite actor. They could simply become friends, but reaching to that point would be awkward. "Uhm...yeah. But he must be busy with his career and stuff. And I don't wanna use him."

The dice master slyly suggested, "Then maybe you can go as your own celebrity." Everyone weirdly looked at him. The male explained, "Your blog is getting more and more popular by the minute where you're a real role model now. So Wheeler, I'm asking if you'd like to be my girl to advertise my game. Not only will it get you an invitation to the party, but also give you some extra cash."

Joey thought that Duke was taking a huge leap in choosing him just because he's getting more popular. "Are you sure 'bout that, Devlin? Cuz I remember ya sayin' somethin' about parents not accepting me?"

"Yeah, but have you been reading your comments, man?" Duke whipped out a laptop from a bag that he bought. It showed that he was planning this discussion. The long haired duelist showed them Joey's blog site that was decorated with the ex-gangster's favorite dueling cards in chibi form such as the red eyes black dragon, scapegoats, Jinzo, panther warrior, sword of landstar, time roulette, flames swordsman and many others. The mouse took the form of either the graceful or skull dice rollers. They switched places depending on the change of pages.

Duke pressed on the tab that led to reading everyone's comments. Tea made this page to have a clear idea of whether Joey was truly giving a postive impact with this blog. How it worked was that a person could enter in a comment which she will see and place it into a column.

There were three separated columns that stood side by side. The left column was the positive column. The middle column were the critical reviews where there were complaints but written in a positive and reasonable way. The right column were the flagged negative comments. At the top of each column showed the numbers for each of them. The positive column at the left had the most comments while the middle column had the least of them.

Duke explained, "I've read all of the comments including the flagged ones, and came up with the conclusion that a majority of the positive comments are from parents who are praising you for being a role model to them or their kid to be able to stand up for themselves. Some of them are against you being dressed like a female, but your videos where you explained your situation with these gang fights, videos of teaching them how to fight or dodge one, and giving positive messages had helped them or their kids get better."

Joey already pretty much knew that he really did give a good impact to the world by doing this, but for Duke to want to expand his popularity was something of a surprise to him. He was really convinced to do this despite already having a hectic schedule. He knew that he had to sacrifice his jobs to do this, since quitting highschool wasn't an option. But it would be worth it.

The dice monster creator continued, "So how about it Wheeler? Want to be my girl?"

Joey did not like how he was asked, but wasn't going to complain about it. Instead he smirked, "You got yourself your girl!"

"Great! Here's the contract." Duke took out a pile of clipped papers out of a folder from his bag. "You can read over that, and then give them to me tomorrow when I visit again. Then I'll send you the rest of the details when we have everything else planned out."

Joey took the papers, and began reading with a critical eye. He already knew what he didn't want out of a job like this, so watched out for those flags.

Yugi didn't want to rain on the parade, but he had to be reassured about this. "Are you sure, Joey? You're already busy with everything else in your life even if the gang fights most likely stopped."

Joey looked away from the papers to grin at his naive little friend. His eyes shined with excitement. "It's okay, Yug'. I can handle whatever Duke throws at me!"

"You better." The mentioned male said seriously. "I expect you to give one hundred percent into this commercial! If you do it with your all, the sales would be tremendous!"

"Don't worry Duke! I'll-URGH!" Joey held his stomach. He was simply straightening himself to look triumphant, but that caused a revolt in his stomach.

Ryou lightly laughed at this. "Let's not get excited now, shall we? You need to rest Joseph, or you might hurt yourself more."

Joey agreed. He did feel like he needed some pain killers, and that stuff would pull him to a good sleep. Mokuba told Joey that he would have the staff keep his bentos from getting spoiled before leaving. The rest of his friends left after telling him to get better soon.

Tristan soon came in after they left. He thought that this would be an opportune moment to have a heart to heart talk. "Hey." They already greeted each other, but they knew that that meant that they were having a do over. Whatever ill feelings that had, they're going to push it aside, and having a reasonable talk.

Joey said, "Hey."

Tristan was silent before he said, "I'm sorry for being an asshole."

The patient replied back, "I'm sorry being being an idiot."

The two of them stared at each other and then broke into smiles. The two hugged each other gently to not give the duelist any more pain. "Get better alright." The brunette told him endearingly. Joey agreed mirthfully.

The non-duelist was about to leave, but then he couldn't stop himself from asking, "What was the real reason why that you went after Diesel?"

Joey arched an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I know you left your past life behind. You wouldn't go after him even if he threatened you like that because you know better after what happened with them last time. So why did you really go, Joey?"

The blond looked out the window and then back at Tristan. "I'll tell ya but ya gotta keep this top secret. No one but me and Tea know." Tristan nodded. "So y'see, the police approached me and knew about my past affiliation with Diesel, and wanted me to help them out by getting to know of whose sellin' him the illegal stuff. I was able to bug the phone that he was using under another name, and then I knew that bastard was actually trying to get me back in his gang again since he knew that he wouldn't be able to beat me in a fair fight. Forcin' me in his gang would have his gang become the best in the city. The title slippin' in like a glove."

Joey wasn't boasting. He was just stating the facts. Tristan asked of why Tea knew. He replied, "The police approached me while I was with her at the mall. They had tried to approach privately a lot, but I've been avoidin' them because I didn't want to deal with their bullshit when I had things to do. So they took their chance in public."

Tristan sighed out. He was glad that he wasn't a police officer yet. He wouldn't have had the heart to pull Joey into that sort of mess without going mad and ruining the mission altogether. "Damn, man, I thought all the dangerous shit that happens to us would happen to all of us together." The brunette didn't add that it made him feel like Joey was pulling himself away from them, and the duelist didn't know it.

Though Joey could sense that he wanted to say that. He reassured his longest friend, "I'm not going anywhere Tristan. We'll always be pals. But ya gotta accept the fact that we're all gonna take our own adventures without each other at some point. We're almost graduatin' afterall, so get used to it already ya big log." He gave him his biggest goofy grin.

Tristan didn't know of whether to roll his eyes or smile. He settled with both. Joey told him to get out already so he can get some rest. already. The non-duelist left after he said his goodbyes again.

._._._.

A week had passed since Joey had to stay in the hospital. His bruises were changing color, but it meant that he was healing. His own pinkish scar showed to be a long, slim, and diagonal bumping one. It was barely noticeable when Joey was able to hide it by his makeup, but the blond wasn't putting any of that on.

That had given Seto a clear look at the blond's cheek. The brunette had worked hard, so he could make a visit to the blond secretly at night. Mokuba didn't know about this, so he wasn't able to alert Joey about this.

Right now, the blond duelist was sleeping calmly after having taken his pain killers to ease his body. Kaiba was glad for this because he wasn't sure of what he was going to talk to the blond about. They were most likely just going to insult each other until Joey wanted him out of the room, and the CEO would leave to not make the idiot think he actually wanted to visit because he was worried.

God, they're stupid.

Seto looked at the stomach bruise, and almost vomited at the purplish-yellow sight. He settled with a prominent scowl.

It upset him that the dog was stuck in the hospital bed when he could be making more of a fool himself at school or public. Although, Joey hadn't stopped making videos on his blog where he just talked about random things for a good half hour. A half hour that the Kaiba elder could never get back. He tried to deny at first that he watched the video because he was glad to hear the mutt's upbeat voice, but then he had to be real to himself and stop being an idiot, too.

He cared about Joey to a point where Seto wouldn't mind acknowledging that the monkey was out there doing whatever he wanted, but not being harmed in any sort of way, unless it was hilarious. And this was not hilarious.

He knew by sources of what the police had his dog do, and he felt angry that the dog put his life at risk for the police to bust some immature gang leader. Wheeler just wasn't cut out for that; cut out for the real world, while before they were being played with games. The idiot shouldn't be given that sort of job in the first place since he might have died. He knew that the bruise on his stomach was mostly due to shots being blasted against a bulletproof jacket.

What if he wasn't wearing it?

Seto didn't like that. He didn't like the idea of living in a world without Joey. He might be able to live his life with just running his company, aiming to finally defeat Yugi, and taking care of Mokuba, but Joey gave him something unique. He made the cruel CEO laugh at the stupidity of the world in a brighter view.

The poor idiot was the joke of his world, and he wanted to laugh. Plus everyone knows that no one can genuinely laugh without giving a genuine smile at the same time.

Seto sat on a chair as he watched the blond sleep for almost an hour before he had to return home to sleep. Before he left, he whispered, "Get well idiot. And next time, don't pull yourself into these stupid stunts again...Heh. As if a dog like you will ever learn."

._._._.

After about two weeks, Joey was allowed out of the hospital. He could have gotten out sooner if the staff wasn't told to keep him in due to the fact that the over zealous male would most likely overwork himself again.

His friends walked with him out of the hospital, and then he returned back to school in his female uniform. Joey didn't bother covering the scar on his cheek since it didn't look gruesome. He thought it gave him character, and no one seemed to be bothered by it except for his blog commenters who quickly noticed it and went on a comment rant about who dared to try to ruin his beautiful face.

The blond quickly told his awesome followers to calm down, and then explained that the scar came from one of his many cornered fights. And then gave the good news that there would be less fights from now on, and then told them about him appearing in a dice monsters commercial. The spoiler sparked out a few debates, since some news reporters had to do their research on what dice monsters was before they could try to seriously discuss of whether this was appropriate or not.

Duke had gotten some heat by the media for allowing a crossdresser to be the star of his next commercial. The teenager was barely effected since this sort of outbreak meant that his game was being given more publicity, and that led to everyone turning their heads to the game. This also renewed the popularity of Joey's first gang fight video.

And so when Joey returned to school, he was immediately crowded be other female students who were incredibly happy to have him in their school, and being such a cool person!

"You're the best, Joey! I'm rooting for you to be in the commercial!" One of them said. The rest agreed.

One of the other girls told him, "We're making a school club in honor of you, Joey Wheeler! You are a great inspiration to the many of us! Both females and males!"

The duelist eyes lit up. "Really? For me?" He pointed at himself, dumbfounded. The group of girls nodded eagerly. Joey blushed feeling embarrassed. "Eh, but you really shouldn't! Even if I am a kickass, I'm not all that great! Maybe just a little bit." He laughed.

His friends were watching this from afar. Ryou commented, "Oh my. It seems that Joey is going to end this senior year as the number one idol."

Tristan proudly said, "He deserves it. He worked hard to keep that skirt on." He mischievously added, "And that means girls will be gratifying towards us, too!" He charged toward his popular friend. The others merely watched him go with their deadpanned facial expressions. "Move aside ladies. Best friend of Joey Wheeler needs to escort him to his class!" The brunette wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Hey Tris', I'm not done here!" Joey complained, but Tristan whispered to him, "You missed a shitload of school and homework these past two weeks. Better get to them now."

"Oh right! Sorry gals! I have important work to do if I wanna graduate." He gave a wink which had some of the girls' hearts skip a beat. The two ex-delinquents walked away to their classroom.

Joey immediately laid his eyes on Seto Kaiba. He remembered what Mokuba told him about the cold guy caring about him. He stopped himself from blushing when he approached the senior student.

Seto was in the middle of typing away on his laptop. He noticed someone next to him. He side glanced at the person to see that it was the dog. He asked, "What do you want, Wheeler?"

"Wow, it's nice to see you after so long, too, bastard." Joey sarcastically said, and then seriously told the male, "I just wanted to say thanks for the basket. Even if it wasn't funny."

Seto smirked, "Oh but it was plenty funny to me."

Joey's eye twitched, and fists balled, but he kept his cool. "I bet it was." He said bitterly. "Anyway, that was all I wanted to say." The crossdresser sauntered to the front of the class to get his missing work from the teacher. Kaiba watched him walk. Those legs still being attractive despite all the violent past confrontations. The CEO secretly wished that his skirt was shorter so he could watch those thighs brush against each other and work with that butt.

Kaiba's breath hitched when Joey had to place his hands on the desk, and leaned forward to get a closer look at whatever the teacher was trying to show him. He saw the skirt rose slightly which revealed more of those soft looking bite-able thighs. He just wanted to run his hand in between those thighs teasingly.

He imagined him entering a classroom where Joey was alone doing his missed work. The two have eye contact. Joey questioned of what he was still doing here, and Kaiba replied with something insulting instead of a real answer, so he can see that cute angry face that the stupid mutt would make.

The two enter a battle of insults. The brunette's own being articulate and mocking while the blond would try to snap back with something he would perceive as clever or good enough. When the blond couldn't take it anymore, he would stand up from his seat and charged toward him. He grabbed him by the collar where he dared the man to try to mouth him off again.

Kaiba merely chuckled and continued to mock him. Joey dared him again with both hands gripping his collar. Their bodies coming closer in physical contact. Seto would smirk down at those burning honey brown eyes glaring at him. Those eyes that irritated the brunet because he wanted to diminish that burn once and for all like he could do to all the other second-rated duelist. But he knew that that was impossible, and that made the CEO both angry but excited as well.

In one bold move, he moved his leg up so his thigh grazed the crossdressers crotch. Joey's eyes widened in surprise as he quietly gasped to the sudden intimate contact. He tried to move back, but Seto wrapped his arms around the blond's torso and continued his assault on the male's crotch.

Joey audibly groaned, and yelled of what the fuck was the asshole doing?! Seto merely smirked as he had his hands grabbed a hold of those buttocks; fondling them and then every now and then giving each a good squeeze. The blond tried to punch him, but the black belt rich kid caught his wrist and turned them around so the second-rate duelist was held against the teacher's desk. His butt protruding out and wiggling as the male below him tried to free himself but was met with only a firmer and painful hold on both his wrists.

Seto would have leaned down to whisper something seductively in his mutt's ear. His hot breath ghosting over that sensitive shell. He then teased that shell by licking and nibbling softly on it. His own crotch moving itself forward to rub against the male's inviting ass. Joey gasped and moaned. His face flushing red from the embarrassing acts being done against his body.

But his helpless face quickly turned to one of determination when Seto leaned back with a condescending smirk. He would raise his head as he glared hatefully at the male, but behind those hateful eyes, there was an insecure puppy. It turned out that the monkey had also been wanting this from the bastard, but under different circumstances where they both knew that they mutually liked each other. But Joey didn't know.

So Seto knew that they would have to have a heart to heart about their feelings, but the teenage boy skipped that part in his wonderland, and went straight to where he convinced the teen to submit to being bend over the teacher's desk and being fucked with his own female uniform ripped open and nipples sticking out like ripe cherries that were ready to be assaulted by his pinching fingers. The second rate duelist's cock was sticking and dripping out of his crotchless panties.

Oh god, the cries of pleasure that Seto tried to think about in the guy's male voice. But would have screamed high pitch since he will make the blond feel so good and not regret being fucked like some complete whore as they both came. The teenaged boy pondered on whether he should have their first time end with his cum inside of the blond or cum over the male's butt crack and clothes. Either way was hot and messy where the teen had to take a trip to the bathroom and wipe the mess off or try to keep the cum in his ass so he could clean it better at home

Seto didn't realize that he was sitting with his elbow against the desk, cheek against hand, other arm lazily lying on the desk, and eyes glazed over with his naughty daydreams. He snapped out of it when he noticed a hand waving motion in front of him. It was Joey now facing him and giving him a bewildered face. Seto was sporting a peaceful distant facial expression facing at his general direction which was really weird for the always stoic male.

The CEO almost blushed, and hastily returned back to his work. Joey thought that the rich guy probably worked late last night, so dismissed the weird attitude.

._._._.

A/N: Feel like I need to make Seto's feelings clear. Before this story, the two merely had a friendly one-sided rivalry, and haven't really thought about their true feelings about each other until Joey decided to cross dress.

At the first chapter, Seto merely thought that the blond looked hot, and fell in love with those fantastic legs! If you watched season 0 yugioh episode 19, you'd understand why I think Joey has amazing legs!

At the second chapter, Seto still finds him pretty, but also an annoyance due to Joey's's troubling life troubling him, too. But it also surfaces the blue-eye hottie's concern for the honey-eyed duelist.

And this one shows that Seto is genuinely showing his concern for our hot-blooded idiot, but still trying to keep his cold facade against him. And sneaking in to the boy's hospital room to see how he was doing himself. And after admitting to himself that wanted Joey to stay in his life, Seto's own sexual desires begin to rise.

I figured that Seto's love would be taken by steps. And thanks for reading this far.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dungeon Dice Monsters! Roll your fate to the game!" Joey spoke out and then rolled his three dices out.

"CUT!" The director cried out. "Great job, Joey! That's a rap everyone!" The filming crew moved to clear the set.

Joey sighed out tiredly as Duke walked up to him. "You did great! For someone who never did acting, you really know how to give out a convincing performance! You should consider going into acting. It would certainly help you get a restaurant quicker with your talent."

"No way. If I'm gonna have a restaurant, I wanna earn it with my own skills. Not money. Although that is important." The hardworking student then said more to himself, "Maybe I'll do some acting jobs on the side." If someone like Duke who wanted this commercial to be absolutely perfect, then he might actually have some talent to please other people.

Joey looked back at how filming the commercial went. It was incredibly exhausting! Duke wanted Joey to perform as both a female and male, so that viewers who does dueling will recognize Joey Wheeler, and when they discover in the description that the female is also him, they would go nuts and watch the commercial again and again to see the similarities.

As great as that sounded, Joey had to constantly change from one outfit to the other while also getting his makeup redone again and again to the point that the blond honestly didn't care of how he looked for the camera anymore. He was just gonna get his makeup done, and then get on set even if he looked like a clown.

And then there was the constant moving of different locations, changing of choreography, scripts and the need to constantly smile! As much as Joey loved to smile, this whole thing was making him overdo it that the blond honestly felt like he had become Yugi. He just didn't know how to not smile anymore!

Right now, he was smiling! And he just didn't care that he was anymore. Someone could get run over in front of him, and he'd still be smiling while screaming in his head.

Duke interrupted him from his pained thoughts, "Anyway, this is your last shoot. Tomorrow, you're going to model for the brand, and then you're scott free. See you tomorrow." He walked away with his phone to his ear.

The blond felt incredible relief to know that he was almost free from this job, and then return to his simple two-job and school work. He went to his dressing room where he picked out his female outfit of the day. It was only five at the afternoon. They've been shooting since eight at the morning which meant that the blond had been acting for nine straight hours.

He thought that maybe he should just go home, and sleep but then there was a knock and a recognizable voice from outside. "Hey Joey! It's Mokuba! Duke said that you were in there!"

Joey yelled out in his feminine voice, "I'm here an' in the middle of pickin' an outfit. Jus' wait a moment." The crossdresser then picked out a simple short jeans, white tank top, and then a light blue male button shirt. He put on comfortable socks and sneakers before opening the door with a his purse's strap over his shoulder.

"Hey squirt! Whatcha doin' here?" The duelist closed the door behind him.

Mokuba replied, "You told me that you were going to help me pick out my Halloween costume today after work."

"Oh right! Let's go then! Where's your brother?" The two made their way out of the studio to the limo that was waiting for them.

"He's attending a meeting like always. So glad that you have the time cuz I don't know of what I'm gonna wear. I already dressed as Freddy last year and was definitely scary! Remember that!"

"How can I forget?! Your costume looked authentic! You literally looked like you got your face burned!"

"Yeah! But this year I want to wear a cool costume! Something completely awesome that even Seto will make a face!"

Joey held in his laughter, but couldn't hold back a snort. "So that's why you want to go shoppin' with me. Don't worry, Mokuba! Joey Wheeler is the man, or woman, for the job!"

The two entered the limo. The driver was already told beforehand of where to go, so drove off after he sees from his rearview mirror that the two were comfortable.

Joey asked the thirteen year old, "So how's eighth grade treatin' ya, kid? Any bullies?"

"No. A lot of the kids don't pick on me since they know that I'm Seto Kaiba's little brother. If anyone tries to pick a fight with me, Seto will know without me having to say anything. He's a great big brother like that."

Joey genuinely smiled at the sound of that. Big brothers are supposed to protect their little siblings. "Bein' related to someone famous has its perks huh."

"Yup! What about you Joey? Have you ever been bullied?"

"Lots." Joey doesn't hesitate to answer since it was all in the past. "I was bullied since fourth grade after my parents divorced, and kids started picking on me because I stunk and stuff."

"Why did you stink?"

"Water was out, a lot at my house since my dad couldn't pay the water bill for a month or two. And before the divorce, my mom did the chores. It took me a while before I could pay for the water bill myself, and teach myself of how to do my laundry. Thankfully, an old lady was there to teach me how."

"Wait, how did you pay for the water bill?"

"By getting a job. One of my old man's friends knew about how bad we had it, so tried to help my dad get a job, but we both knew that he was a lost cause, so I told the guy to get me a job. He thought I was nuts, but knew I was desperate, so got me a job as a news paper boy, a pet sitter and a baby sitter. I took on a lot of odd jobs since." Joey said this while smiling as he was looking out the car window distantly. Whether that smile was due to habit or simply not being sad about the past anymore, the kid beside him didn't know.

Mokuba was silent for a moment. He never quite understood what it was like to truly work hard out of desperation. "That sound hard. And your mom left you with him?"

"She had to. She couldn't afford to take care of two of us, since my sister was frail and my mom had to take care of her medical bills."

"She left you behind because of money?" Mokuba blurted out that question. Joey's eyes snapped to him. In those honey brown eyes, there was shock, but they smoothed out to understanding. Joey looked out of the window as if to make the atmosphere between them natural again.

He placidly replied, "Yeah, she did. At first as a kid, I thought she left me with the old man was because she didn't have a choice and had to choose Serenity. I wasn't angry at her decision at all. But a few years later, my dad talked about the custody battle between them, and told me that she didn't want me because she couldn't raise both me and Serenity without money troubles. I'm still not mad at my mom, but I do feel a little upset that she didn't really fight for me or at least take part custody of me so I could see Serenity from time to time at least. She just threw me under the bus like my old man..." Joey knew he was talking to a kid, but he trusted Mokuba like a friend.

The long black haired pre-teen felt sad for the blond when he knew that he shouldn't be. Joey was better now with lots of friends and grew up to be such an amazing guy. That amazing guy sense Mokuba's tenseness, so he pulled a goofy grin and ruffled his head. "But that's all in the past! I'm seeing Serenity a lot now, and I have a better family! You, Serenity, all the other guys and even your brother! I'd be a no good person if it weren't for all of you."

That made Mokuba feel better. He switched his depressed move to one that was happily irritated, "That's great! But stop messing my hair! Girls love the long hair! I can't have you messing it!"

Joey grinned cheekily at him, "Oh, so little Mokuba is becoming a man huh! Did you brother give you the birds and the bees talk yet?"

The thirteen year old blush. "No, but at school, all the guys talk about it. How did you discover sex, Joey?"

The ex-gangster remembered back in middle school of when the Hirutani gang introduced porn to him. He couldn't tell the kid that sort of thing. "Uhm, Tristan handed me a porn vid back at middle school when I told him that I never watched one. You better not tell your brother that we're having this talk. He'll have my balls hang by a hook if he knew that I was tellin' you this. And I'm definitely not giving you a porn vid even if ya plead!"

"It's okay; I won't. So...why do they call the sex talk: the birds and bees, anyway?"

"That's cuz bids and bees have a mutual relationship with flowers. Y'see, birds and bees suck nectar from a flower, and in exchange for that, they carry the flower's pollen so that their kids can be born at different places. How it relates to sex is..." Joey paused when he caught himself giving Mokuba the sex talk.

Mokuba was staring at him with big curious eyes. "What? How is it similar?!"

"Oh no! No way! I'm not giving you the talk! That's your brother's job!"

"C'mon! Knowing Seto, he might use computers or duel monsters as comparisons!"

The blond burst out laughing because that was so true. And sad for Mokuba. Joey knew that it would be the right thing to tell the kid a more relatable way, so he isn't scarred. The blond was still a virgin, but knew sex well enough. "Okay, but you gotta swear that you won't tell Seto! Even you driver!" He pointed at the chauffeur who stayed silent.

Mokuba spoke for the both of them that they wouldn't, so Joey begun...in his male voice so that the kid could feel like they were having a strange man to man chat about this.

"So y'see Mokuba. How the whole pollen thing is similar to sex is because sex is meant for reproducing, but can be used for just pleasure. Since you're straight, and I used to be straight, I guess I can be real with you on it. The first and foremost thing about sex is that you must have the girl's consent. And she cannot be drunk when you ask her. She must be sober unless you two have been dating for a while, then it's okay to do it while she's drunk. But before that, on the first time, she has to be sober because if she wakes up and finds out she slept with you without any memory of giving you consent, then what you did last night with her was rape."

That 'R' word sounded horrifying, but necessary to be said. Mokuba asked, "So when do I know that she really wants to do it."

"Well depends on your girl. Some girls are brave where they will tell you that they are okay with it, while other girls will be havin' second thoughts. Either way, the first thing ya need to do is check the waters. What I mean by that is by doing foreplay. Foreplay is when you get intimate before you put your dick into her vagina. The both of you take off your clothes, lie on the bed, and then you give her kisses. A lot of girls expect you to be the handsy one, so you gotta touch her. Don't be too rough but don't be too gentle, either."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, don't hurt her but don't touch her just a little bit. You need to relax and go all in. Let your senses take over. If ya wanna touch her boobs, touch it. If ya wanna touch her butt, touch it. And don't be embarrassed to tell the girl that you're a virgin. Girls are actually into that. Yeah, you're inexperienced, but that kind of makes the girl feel special like she is the one who's gonna make you a man, and you're not gonna compare her to some other girl who might've been better. That takes a load off the girl's shoulders if that's something she's worried about."

"I see. So it's kind of like you don't wanna fall short in comparison to another person. I'd hate it if a girl was comparing me some guy. Much less thinking of someone else."

"See. You're getting it."

"So when do I..." Mokuba looked at him as if trying trying to finish that sentence mentally. This sort of thing was embarrassing to say for an expecting virgin like him. Joey understood without the mind read.

"I don't really know since I never gone that far with anyone."

"You're a virgin, too?"

"Is that so surprising? I know I have the looks, but I'm no playboy. But from what I've watched on videos, you gotta get the girl's vagina wet. Try and make her orgasm so she can be really relaxed."

"How do I know that a girl orgasm?"

Joey chuckled, "Now you're asking the wrong person, but from the stories I've been told, you'll know when while you're inside her, you'll feel her pussy tighten around you, her body becoming flush as her breathing becomes quick and irregular, her pupils dilate behind her tight shut eyes before she archs her back to have her body against yours as she throws her head back to let out her loudest cry of pleasure as her body spasms from her erupting orgasm. And when that spasms slows down, she falls back down to the bed with her body sweating and breathing being deep and slow. And that's how you know that you made her orgasm."

There was silence in the car. Joey looked at Mokuba, who was blushing a crimson red on his cheeks, hiding his crotch with his hands. The pre-teen boy said, "I think I need to take a quick stop to the bathroom."

Luckily the car stopped in front of the store that they were shopping at. Mokuba used the jacket that he was wearing to hide his embarrassment as he made a quick trip to the bathroom. Joey reminded the driver to not tell Seto about this talk before making his way into the store to look at the different costumes. They were just there to make up some idea before ordering it from online.

After a few minutes, Mokuba found Joey in one of the shop's aisles with a light embarrassed blush on his cheeks. The hazel eyed teen thankfully didn't comment on it, and pointed at some costumes that he thought that were cool, but weren't unique enough to make Seto make a facial expression.

Joey talked to him with his feminine voice, "I thought about a duel monster costume, but your brother only thinks the blue eyes white dragon is cool. Doesn't that worry you of how obsessed he is with that card. I love my red eyes black dragon a lot, but not to the point that Kaiba makes her appear practically every duel he's ever been in."

"I prefer not to think of what my brother does with the card after office hours or a duel." Mokuba knew as much as everyone else, who knew his brother, that he had a serious problem with that card. Joey snorted. "So what are you going to wear for Halloween? I heard from Yugi that you guys are going to have a costume ball at your school two week from now on Halloween night."

"Still haven't decided, since I gotta wait for my next paycheck next week. I spent last weeks paycheck on a birthday gift for your brother."

"Seto? You know when's his birthday?" The Kaiba brothers kept that sort of thing in the down low like keeping every personal record of them inside a vault both physically and technologically, so that no one may use their records to do something stupid. Like Seto being stopped by random people for a happy birthday comment, or getting gifts from people he didn't even know.

"Yeah. You told us last year I think when you were worried of what present to get your brother that you called me up to ask of what you should give him."

"Oh right." The little brother remembered when he almost forgot about Seto's birthday, and it was the next day. And it usually took a month or two to figure out what he should get his brother. Luckily he called Joey. He was the only person he knew who was considered to be close to his brother, and could give him an original idea. "And the tea gift was actually good. My brother appreciated the new tea that he orders it from now on. It really helped him relax."

The aspired-to-be-restaurant-owner grinned at his success. "When ya want to own a restaurant, ya gotta know your foods, drinks and a whole lotta other stuff. I want my restaurant to be where a lot of people can feel like they're on equal ground, and enjoy good food that helps them relax after a tiring week. It'll have all kinds of ethnic food that is good for you with a Joey Wheeler twist."

"That sounds like a really awesome restaurant." Mokuba could comment better, but really wanted to know, "So what did you buy for Seto? Why did you buy it?"

The blond answered the latter, "Cuz we're friends, now. If I knew last year, I would've bought the bastard a gift."

The black haired kid furrowed his brows. "But you hate him, don't you? Not like a lot, but he doesn't do anything nice for you."

The two of them enter another aisle of costumes. "Doesn't mean I can't do something nice for him, and who knows, it might warm up that little ice heart of his to be a bit nicer to me."

Mokuba highly doubted that. He guessed it would make his big brother feel something, but it was hard to imagine him being nice to Joey. "So what did you get him?"

"I'm not gonna tell you. Seto has his ways of knowing, so I'm not risking it."

"Oh c'mon! I promise-"

"Nope! Don't bother Mokuba! I'm not tellin' ya and that's it! And don't bother asking the others. I didn't tell them about your brother's birthday, since he would get mad at you, and avoid us more than he already does. Which you would think was impossible, but knowing Kaiba..." Joey let the sentence go as he looked at more costumes.

Mokuba really wanted to know! But knew that Joey was right, and Seto had a sixth sense of knowing when he was hiding something, so force himself to let it go.

"I got it!" Joey cried out as if he said, "Eureka!"

"What?!"

"What your costume should be! But you're gonna need a girl to pull it off!"

"What is it?"

"Wally and Carmen Sandiego!" The blond pulled out a wally costume. "It's perfect! The two most sought after pair ever! It's a pretty snazzy idea, am I right?"

Mokuba thought of the two red wearing people together. "You're right! That would be cool! But who can I find to be my Carmen?"

Joey snorted, "C'mon kid! You're Mokuba Kaiba! What girl wouldn't want to be your Carmen,and be whisked away into a fantasy where the two of you can never be found unless you leave a clue! Just ask a girl at your school who you can trick or treat with. It'll be like what? Your first date?"

The thirteen year old blushed. "I-I've been on dates before!"

"What did I tell you about modesty?" Joey scolded him.

"Sorry." The kid didn't need to apologize, but the blond made it seemed like he demanded for one or else without being forceful.

"Apology accepted. So looks like we got your costume that you're gonna order online. And it took less than an hour. Still a lotta time before I go home and hit the hay."

"How about we look for a costume for you? I don't have anywhere I have to be. Do you plan on dressing up as a guy or girl?"

"I was thinking about going as a guy with a mask to have a break from dressing up as a girl, but then I thought that I always dressed up as something boyish for Halloween, so figured that dressing up as something girly but also cool wouldn't hurt. I was thinking about going in a sexy version of the red eyes black dragon armor. But instead of armor its a killer dress that I can pull off with a flat chest."

"You're really not afraid to put it all out there. What do the guys at your school think about you in a skirt anyway?"

"Most of them just don't care, or are a part of my fan club at school."

"No way you got a fan club like Seto at school?"

"You bet I do! A lot of the girls at school admire that I'm not afraid to dress like a girl and still be kickass! They think I'm some kind of new wave for feminism or somethin'. What they do in their club is spread my fame around the internet, so I can inspire other guys out there to not think that dressing up as a girl is a bad thing. And that being a girl is awesome!"

"Is being a girl any different from being a guy?"

"There's some difference where guys have their protective instincts on charge like Tristan. Tristan knows that I can handle myself, but after dressing up like a girl, his male instincts just kick in to protect me. And that's about it, I think."

"Does your fan club know that you're gay?"

"No one asked me, yet. But there's this huge debate online of whether I am or not. I don't wanna make my sexuality be a big thing, so I'm keepin' that hush hush for now. So keep that a secret." Joey winked at him. Mokuba nodded. "So is your brother gonna celebrate Halloween or gonna keep himself in the office all night?"

"I don't know. Last year he did, but maybe I can convince him to go to the Halloween ball at your school."

"He betta be dere cuz I'm gonna be a knock out! Now let's go find the perfect dress and shoes! To the dress aisle!"

._._._.

Kaiba was irritated. He was irritated because of the mornings he's been having since Joey got out of the hospital.

Every single morning, the elder Kaiba woke up to a morning wood. You'd think that that would be normal for a teenage boy, but the Kaiba corp owner was no ordinary teenage boy. He used to wake up to just the thoughts of what to do next for Mokuba, dueling monsters and his company. Yet, now the nights before the morning woods, he's been having lewd sensually sexual dreams of a certain blond in lingerie and mini skirts.

Sometimes just Joey in his own male clothes, but soon ripped apart from him to be taken down like a bitch in heat. Seto was all about dominance, and damn, did he dominate the hell out of the blond in his dreams. In real life, he would be sweeter and gentle with his touches, but his dreams were all needed quickies that had him have the blond flushed under him as he was already ready for his cock to enter him at any place, any time in any situation.

But Seto was especially hard when his dream Joey would tease him with seductive suggestions and calling him, "Master."

He always had to wake up to cold showers to not let himself masturbate to the sweet idea of having the blond inside his shower sucking him off to get him extra clean and ready for the day.

Seto Kaiba did not understand of how the hell did he suddenly feel hormonal urges for the cross dressing monkey. He would think of him somewhat fondly from time to time, but ever since the idiot got out of the hospital, his mind took it to a whole other level!

He tried to soothe his irritation by distracting himself with work, and whenever his mind suddenly travels back to Joey, he thought about him losing to Yugi. That helped whip his boner down and stay down.

"Hey Seto!" Mokuba sang to him with a mischievous tone.

"What is it Mokuba?" The older brother was supposed to just glance at his brother to make sure that it was him, but then he caught the kid's sly grin at him. Something about that grin had "MUTT" written all over it.

"I went shopping with Joey today." He was right. "And he wants to know of whether you're gonna go to the Halloween ball."

Seto replied to that with a question of his own, "What will he be wearing?" He knew the reason why Joey was interested, but not of what. To not seem like he was interested him, he added, ¨And why should I bother to care?

Mokuba's grin widened. "Don't be like that Seto! And I can't tell you anything! But I'm only going to tell you that it's spicy!"

Kaiba tried not to imagine lingerie. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at his little brother. "Mokuba, remember that I do not take kindly to surprises. If you want me at this mediocre school event, then I better have a good excuse to wasting my time there, instead of using my time to improve Kaiba corporporation's latest project that will rise our stocks by more than thirty percent, and attend a meeting with potential business partners."

His younger brother was silent for a moment. He now remembered that Seto was a busy CEO who always worked over twelve hours a day to keep the number one game company standing. He was having so much fun playing with Joey that that huge detail slipped his mind. He thought that maybe he should call Joey that his big brother wasn't coming, but then he also thought that his big brother needed to go to at least one of his school's events for once. He added to his description to Joey's costume, "It's based off of the red eyes black dragon."

That caught the CEO's attention. He knew very well that the red eyes black dragon was the second strongest dragon-type card. And it was a no brainer that Joey could make himself become the center of attention if he tried. Not that Seto cared about school body's opinion, but it would be a disgrace if he didn't steal the attention by dressing up in a costume based off of his blue eyes white dragon. He will not allow another lesser dragon take the spotlight when his dragon was far more superior.

He smirked. "Is that so? Then tell Joey Wheeler that I will be there, and to be prepared. He isn't the only dragon in this game."

By the sound of that, Mokuba's eyes lit up. "So you're going?!"

"As much as I despise social events and Wheeler, yes." The male responded as he reached for his phone to tell his secretary to dismiss any meetings on Halloween night.

"I'll tell him that you're coming, right away!" Mokuba walked out before taking out his cellphone to text the blond.

Joey was in the middle of walking on the sidewalk with Tristan when he got the text. The two happened to meet at the DVD store, and figured that they could go buy a pizza and watch a horror movie at Tristan's house together since the duelist didn't have a DVD player at his place.

Right now, they got the pizza and were heading to the house. The blond took out his phone to look.

Mokuba: He's coming! And he told me to tell you that he's also coming as a dragon!

"Who is it?" Tristan asked.

"Mokuba. He texted me that Kaiba's coming to the ball!" The blond snickered happily with a naughty grin. "Seto has no idea of what's coming!" Joey texted back.

Joey: I bet he's coming as the blue eyes! Well, ol' red eyes isn't backing down! You didn't tell him about my costume right?

Tristan balked. "You have got to be kidding me! You're actually going!"

"Yeah, so? It's my life, and Kaiba's gonna lose this game once he sees me!"

"It's not something skimpy is it?" The brunette eyed his friend suspiciously.

Mokuba: Only that it's spicy and based off the red eyes black dragon. I really thought that he was going to not come, but when I told him that you were going in a costume based off of REBD, he changed his mind!

Joey smiled at the text, and then glared at his tall friend, "No it's not! It's totally inappropriate! I'm going as the red eyes black dragon! Not some hooker!"

That answer didn't help the non-duelist. "How are you gonna pull that off?"

"I'll tell you about it when we reach your house." The crossdresser went back to texting Mokuba. As he did, the two were walking pass two guys. Those guys spotted Joey, and Tristan noticed the predatory look in their eyes. Instinctively, the brunet put his hand on his shorter friend's waist to pull him closer, giving a harsh glare at the two. The two men quickly looked away since they weren't looking for trouble.

Tristan glared at them over his shoulder to make sure that they weren't trying to steal a glance at his friend's backside. His glare turned deadly when both of those guys looked back. They flinched by the intensity of those eyes that they snapped forward and shrunk away. Tristan smiled and then looked down at Joey who was glowering at him.

The taller male immediately removed his hand and gave an apologetic smile. Joey rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time, and he complained about it, but words were helpless against the male instincts.

._._._.

On October 25th which was on a Saturday, the Kaiba brothers celebrated Seto's birthday by taking a trip to Kaiba land where it was closed so its only them. He didn't need to tell his company or the Kaiba land employees of why he chose this day to take a break to treat himself and his brother. He was the boss. The CEO didn't truly care about celebrating it, but found it to be a good day to spend time with Mokuba and treat it as if he's celebrating his birthday as well.

At the ferris wheel, Mokuba asked him, "So did you get anything from the mail?"

Seto arched an eyebrow at this. "No." He narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Mokuba, no one else knows about this day, correct?"

"Yeah! It's just that I'm expecting a package!" Mokuba didn't lie. He was waiting for a package. The package that held Joey's birthday present to Kaiba. The blond didn't want Seto to know that he knew his birthday date, so he was going to send the package to Mokuba who can give the gift to Seto as his own present to him. The younger Kaiba wanted the duelist to give the gift to his brother, and that it would be okay if the three of them knew the date. However, the older male told him that he already put the present in the mail.

Seto was still suspicious of Mokuba, but he didn't want to ruin the day because of his sixth sense.

So after playing at all the rides on Kaiba land, the two would then decide on whether to go to the movies, beach or go sky diving. The two felt like going race car driving. Seto chose to drive a car with a white and blue colo scheme while Mokuba chose whatever looked the coolest. The pre-teen already knew how to drive. The two raced each other, and Seto came up as number one three times.

After that, they had lunch at a sea food restaurant where they discuss about different things. They then decided to go back home to watch movies and eat a lot of junk food. That was Mokuba's plan as the pre-teen wanted to know if the package finally came.

When they reached their mansion, the younger Kaiba asked the head maid of whether a package had come for him. The woman told him the good news that it was waiting on his bed.

He told Seto to set up the stuff because he had to get something from his room. Before his big brother could ask, he sprinted up the stairs. He leaped into his room to see a medium sized rectangular box on his bed. He opened it to find a small, white, wrapped, and rectangular present with a light blue bow on top. Mokuba took it out and then caught sight of a folded note at the bottom of the box.

He unfolded it to see Joey's sloppy hand writing:

Yo Mokuba!

I hope you get this gift on time, and when you do, you better give it to your brother. AND REMEMBER! You can't tell him that it was from me! Love, your pal Joey Wheeler!

Mokuba grimaced at the note. He really wanted to tell Seto that Joey got him a gift, so maybe they can get along better. But he was going to respect his friend's wishes, so he put the note back in the box, and then put the box down on the floor before kicking it in under his bed.

The black haired pre-teen made his way to the living room where he saw that Seto had everything prepared. They were going to watch how to train your dragon. Mokuba figured that that would make his older brother interested in watching it.

"Hey Seto, I got a gift for you!" Mokuba handed the present over to him.

Seto ripped the wrapper off, and saw a pen box. He opened it, and his eyes widened. Mokuba walked over behind Seto to see what was in the box. It was a fountain pen, but not just any fountain pen. The pen was made of blue titanium with solid steel overlays that were sculpted to look like the blue eye white dragon at one side while the other side had the Kaibacorp logo on it.

"You bought this for me?" Seto sounded surprised.

Mokuba really wanted to say no, but he end up saying, "Yeah! Your always cooped up in your office and love the blue eyes white dragon card, so I thought that I could give you something like that! It looks cool right!"

"I love it." Seto said as he held up the pen for inspection. This reminded him of when his little brother drew him the blue eyes white dragon to make him feel better and determined. "Thank you, Mokuba."

"I-it was no problem at all!" Mokuba felt guilty. His big brother looked really happy. Almost as happy as when he was freed from Pegasus's capture.

Seto closed the box, and put the pen in his pocket since he will be using the pen. "Let us watch the movie, shall we."

"Yeah!" The two brothers got on the couch and started it. The movie did catch Seto's attention though the elder Kaiba thought that the dragons that were trained were either hideous, or nothing different from dogs. He couldn't help thinking about how Joey would be like if he was a dragon. Most likely the type to fly like an idiot and be squashed against a flat surface like the idiot he was. Seto stifled his laughter with a smirk at the thought of the mutt slamming himself against a wall, and then falling down on the ground, or being met with unfortunate circumstances of falling down several flat surfaces like one would down a flight of stairs filled with booby traps.

After the movie and the sequel, Mokuba was drowsy. The two Kaiba brothers went upstairs to get to bed. The two entered their own bedrooms to get ready for bed, and then when Seto was done, he checked on his company through phone. When he was told of what happened, and made orders to fix some mistakes, he hung up, and then walked into his little brother's room to make sure that he was asleep.

The elder Kaiba knew that he had to stop doing these nightly trips soon since his little brother was becoming a young man. The CEO noted that it was almost time for the sex talk. He decided to do it after his brother's fourteenth birthday.

Seto saw that Mokuba was in bed breathing softly. The brunet smiled at this, and then noticed something sticking out of the bed. He knelled down silently to pull it out, and looked at the address. He arched an eyebrow when he saw that it was from the mutt.

He opened the box and saw nothing but a note. He took it out, and then walked out to the hallway to have a clearer look at what was written. The second top duelist was shocked by what he read. He took out his pen, and made the connections.

So this wasn't a gift from Mokuba just like the last time when they were kids. This was a gift from Wheeler! But how did he know and who else knows? Not wanting to wait tomorrow, he marched back in his little brother's room, and turned on his table lamp.

Mokuba woke up by the sudden bright light. He opened his eyes to see his brother. "Seto?"

"Explain this?" The older male showed the unfolded note.

It took a second before it registered in the younger Kaiba's mind of what it was. He sat up abruptly in shock. "Where did you get that?!"

"The box under your bed was sticking out, but that's not what's important." Seto's glare was hard and cold, but nothing in comparison against other people since Mokuba was dear to him. "Why does Wheeler know that today is my birthday, and who else knows?"

"No one! Just him!" Mokuba spoke as if a bomb was about to set off in a few seconds if he didn't explain himself. "It was because of last year and I kind of forgot about your birthday, and I didn't know of what to get you so I called Joey, and he was the one who gave me the idea about the tea! You know! The tea that you really really like now!" Seto glared a little harder at his little brother for his blunder. Mokuba earnestly apologized. "I'm really sorry! But you didn't hate the gifts! In fact, you really liked them more than what I got you for your last birthdays!"

"I liked them because they came from you."

"So you don't actually like the pen or the tea?"

Seto scowled. He did like them a lot. But the fact that it didn't come from Mokuba had their value lowered down. "That isn't the point. I told you specifically that I do not want anyone to know about my birthday except for you. I wouldn't have cared if you had gotten me a crappy present or not; spending time with you is worth more than any material possession that you can give me. I trusted you with the secret of my birthday, and yet you betrayed me by telling Wheeler, and now lying to me that this gift came from you instead of telling me the truth. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mokuba felt really guilty, and should be punished, but not Joey. "Okay, it was my bad. I'm really sorry Seto."

The elder Kaiba didn't know of what else to do. He did not think that it was fit to punish Mokuba for this since his intentions were good, but he had to do something about this so it didn't make the pre-teen think that it was okay to tell his birthday to others. "I will forgive you for your lies, and mistakes, but you will have to tell Wheeler that I do not want gifts from him ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

"But Seto-"

His older brother snapped softly, "I said, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes big brother." Mokuba replied in defeat, yet added, "But Wheeler gave you that gift because the two of you were friends! And he didn't tell his other friends so you wouldn't ignore him more than you already do! If that was possible! He just wanted you to be happy, and didn't care if you didn't thank him for that! He was just trying to be a good friend!"

"Then also tell Wheeler that we are not friends, and stop thinking otherwise." Seto wasn't sure if he mean that or not. He grew up believing that friends weren't real like magic tricks. It's all good up front but behind it was all lies. He did admit to himself that he cared for the blond, and he began having lustful dreams, but the male can become a sex buddy at the very least. That was a more real concept than friends.

"So are you not coming to Halloween ball?"

Seto thought about it, and thought that that would be a good situation for the two to talk about this when they could escape from the ball. To not sound eager, he replied, "That depends on whether something far more important than the dog comes up. Good night, Mokuba."

With that, the blue eyed duelist walked out of the room. Mokuba sighed in relief that that was all that happened. He noted to himself that he should call Joey about this tomorrow since the teen must be asleep right now.

._._._.

During the afternoon of Halloween, Joey and the gang were at Kaiba land since the amusement park had five identical haunted house out so everyone in the park could get to experience the terror before it was time to trick or treat.

"What? You're not coming to the ball?" Joey looked dubiously at his long time friend, Tristan.

"Sorry man, but I gotta take my sis's boy out trick or treating." The male explained apologetically.

Duke added, "And I can't come either. I have another party to go to."

Ryou also said, "And I'm staying at my place so I can give out candy."

"WHAT?!" Joey balked! "But you guys never seen me in my costume! I was gonna be the belle of the ball!"

That would've been weird if this was three months ago from Joey Wheeler, but after three months of earning his right to be a sexy crossdresser, he was determined more than ever to show to Seto that he can look damn sexy in a skirt!

Right now, the crossdresser was wearing a spaghetti strap red crop top that showed off his hard earned abs, and faded denim shorts. It was the autumn season, but there are those surprising comfortably afternoon temperatures that made wearing this sort of outfit possible. He didn't wear hair extensions since his hair had grown past his shoulders now. His makeup gave him a warm welcoming look.

Joey did attract attention by some people who recognized him, and signed some autographs along the way. A majority of those people being girls and a few other crossdressers who weren't afraid to dress up in public thanks to him.

Back to the conversation, duke snorted, "Just send us pictures."

"But it won't be as good if you don't see it in real life!" Joey pouted with brown puppy eyes.

So Ryou suggested, "Then how about this: Since Yugi and Tea are still going with you, you guys can meet up together at my house since it's not far at all from where the ball is taking place. Tristan and Duke can come over to get candy on the go. The ball starts at six so how does seven sound?"

Joey's eyes sparkled, "That's perfect!" He head locked the British teen. "You're the best Ryou! I am so glad that we're friends now!"

"You weren't glad before?" Ryou felt really uncomfortable in the headlock that he wondered of how Yugi could stand them.

Joey ignored the question since the answer was obviously about a certain ring. When everyone else agreed with the plan, the blond than suggested that they try out all the rides before trying out the haunted houses.

And so, the gang went on roller coasters, ferris wheels, laser tag, booth games, and buying different kinds of foods before finally stopping at the haunted house where the line was pleasantly short. A maximum of six people were allowed in so the group stayed close together.

When they entered, they found themselves in a creepy barely lit hallways covered in spiderwebs, and dark spots made from water leakage.

Tristan snorted, "It doesn't look that scary." And then the slamming shut door echoed behind them which gave a shiver down all their spines.

"I guess we have to walk from here." Duke said the obvious, and the gang moved.

At the very same time, Kaiba was entering the room where the haunted houses effects were being controlled. "Status report." He demanded. He was told that everything was going extremely well as all the participants who have been inside have not wanted to come back in due to nearly having heart attacks or having to carry one of their group members out of the maze.

Seto was pleased by that. That was the whole pointed of a haunted house unlike other inferior designs. He always aimed to make the best without being met with lawsuits for scaring a person to death.

The CEO looked at the screens and spotted Yugi's strange hair that shouldn't be possible at birth. He also saw that the hobbit was with his friends. He fiendishly evil smirk graced his features as he found this as the best opportunity to play with the dorks.

"Move." He told one of his workers, and when he took his seat, he went off to work. His first course of action was splitting the group apart.

The group was walking around while wondering of where the monsters were. "I thought that we'd be scared off our socks by now." Tea said out loud of what everyone was thinking. She then gasped when she thought she saw something that wasn't her reflection in a mirror. She stopped to look at the mirror to see her reflection.

The boys stopped to look at her. "Something wrong Tey?" Joey asked.

"I think that this is the whole someone else walking through the mirror beside me trick." Tea said.

"Lame!" Tristan commented. As he said this, a wild man with a knife in hand was running full force at them. "Where's the real terror?! I came here to get scared!"

Ryou noticed the running man. "UHM?!"

Everyone looked to the white haired teen, and then to the crazy psycho coming at them! "AAAAAH!" They ran away from the man as fast as they could, and then were met with two corridors. Joey ran through the right with Tristan and Duke behind. Yugi and others were supposed to follow, but the corridor was closed by a wall. They quickly took the left to avoid the man who almost stabbed them!

Joey ran like a maniac before stopping short when a dead body suddenly dropped through the ceiling. He ran to the opened hallway at the right with the two males closely behind him.

"Wait Joey! These aren't real! Stop man!" The brunet called out, but the blond was scared shitless!

At every corner, Joey was met with some creepy zombie baby, a girl coming out of a well or mirror, arms reaching out of a painting and so much more monsters. Tristan and Duke were surprised by his stamina and stupidity of fear. They didn't have the time to be afraid since they were more worried that Joey might twist a leg from how reckless the guy was.

Seto was laughing like a maniac at the sight of them running like chickens. His workers were worried about his sanity, but did not comment for the sake of keeping their jobs. He truly enjoyed seeing the tough acting blond acting like a complete wimp! He was truly relishing the moment!

Joey finally came to a stop at one of the hallways when he can't take the running anymore. "Where the fuck is the exit! I can't take it anymore! Let me out of this crazy place!" Joey kicked a hole in the wall which let out three gray arms that try to pull him in. He screamed as he used his other leg to push against the wall to have the arms let go of him.

He got out of the their grasp, and fell against the other side. "FUCK YOU!"

"JOEY!" Tristan finally caught up to him with a panting Duke behind him.

The blond confessed to him desperately, "I'm done man! I can't take this place anymore! I'm going crazy!"

"Calm down!" The taller male ordered firmly as he grabbed the duelist's shoulders so he doesn't run away again.

"Don't tell me to fuckin' calm down! How the fuck do you expect me to calm down?! I'm telling you that I can't take it anymore! There seems to be no fucking end anymore! What the fuck is wrong with this place!"

"Joey!...Calm down." His friend told him gently. "Everything is going to be alright. None of this is real."

"Then where the fuck is the exit!" Just then a ghost appeared above them. The blond froze in fear, and Tristan quickly held him against his chest to not see the hologram above them.

"It's not real! Dont be scared!" He shouted.

"Then get me out." That came out as a sob. Duke was surprised to hear someone as tough as Joey sound like that.

Tristan sighed, and surprisingly wrapped his arms protectively around him. Something you wouldn't have expected from the two friends who would rather just have their fingers touch instead of holding hands. The taller male told the frightened one, "It's alright Joey. We've been in worst situations than this."

"But at that time we knew we could get out since we had help!" Joey sobbed out. His tears soaked his friend's shirt. "But we're hopeless now!"

"No we're not. We'll get out of this. I promise." Duke never thought that he would hear Tristan be so kind and gentle. It was as if he was handling a small shivering puppy. Ironically. "Remember at middle school when you were lock in the janitor's closet."

"Don't remind me." Joey groaned.

"No. You gotta remember because you gotta remember of how it ended." Tristan held Joey's shoulders to move the teen back so they could be face to face. Joey's face was tear streaked and nose reddened. The blond sniffed. "You really thought that there were monsters after you, but it turned out to be some prank set up by a bunch of punks."

"Yeah. And luckily you were there to run those assholes away and get me out. I was so stupid." Joey looked down in shame.

"No. You didn't know of what was happening, but when you did, it became some stupid prank. And this is all this is. A prank. So stop being an idiot and get back in the game, man." Tristan scolded him.

Joey thought about it, and then took a deep breath in, wiped his wet trails of tears, and sniffed in his wet snot. "Your right. But where do we go?"

Duke helpfully suggested, "There's got to be map somewhere. We'll just have to walk from now on to not miss it."

Joey groaned. "I don't think I can take another step in this place."

Tristan suggested, "Then hold onto my arm and close your eyes. I promise that I won't let any of these animatronics or holograms take you." He lightly chuckled at how pathetic his ex-gangster friend was.

Joey growled as he blushed, but he reluctantly embraced the brunet's arm as he pressed his eyes against it. "You better!" He demanded, and then calmed down as the three of them walked.

Seto was not pleased. He was about to let them go, but should have done so sooner. Now, the blond was clinging to that worthless groupie of his as if there was no tomorrow. The bile in his stomach pushed up to his chest which he hated. He wasn't jealous. There was no reason to be jealous.

He watched them finally find a map. He completely ignore Yugi and the others whom were separated from them were out of the house, and complaining to one of Kaiba land employees about how scary the house was that it should be considered illegal.

Joey, Tristan and Duke finally got out to bright daylight. "Alright." The brunet said. "We're out."

The honey-eyed duelist let his eyes take a peek to see the other booths and amusement park rides. He let go of Tristan in extreme glee. "YEAH! We're finally out!" He did his victory dance as he sang about his freedom. And then laughing triumphantly and then lying out loud that he wasn't scared at all!

Duke and Tristan just stared at him with their wary smiles. While Joey was celebrating, the dice duelist commented to the responsible teen, "Hey, nice work on calming him down. Never knew you could be so gentle to a guy." He winked at him.

Taylor visibly paled at what was meant to be a compliment. "Hey, I was just trying to be a friend." Then he explained, "Joey is deadly afraid of ghost and zombies. Back at middle school, a bunch of punks decided to play a prank on him. Joey was in the middle of detention, and they began playing haunted music, and then acted like ghost and zombies chasing him throughout the school. They got him locked inside the janitor closet, and tricked him into thinking a ghost was in there that was going kill him. If I hadn't been there to get a book I forgot, then Joey might have been seriously scarred."

Duke found the story to be both sad and amusing. He pointed out, "So you were being extra gentle because of that. Not because he looks like cute girl."

Tristan grimaced. "Ew, man! Dressed as a girl or not, Joey's just a pal!"

"Oh, so you're not cheating on me with him." Duke grinned. Tristan balked at the idea of doing so which made him snicker. "We've been dating since July. I think we should tell them already."

"Let's do it on Christmas, so the Christmas spirit will put them in a welcoming mood, and they'll be less on both our cases." Tristan suggested logically. Duke agreed.

"Whatcha guys talkin' about?" Joey asked.

"Nothing." Tristan replied. "Anyway, you owe me lunch for hauling your ass out of there."

Joey grimaced. "That's not fair Tristan! But since I'm such a good pal, I'll do it!"

"Joey! Guys!" Yugi called out once the three found them.

Seto left the room unhappily. As much as he was in glee for scary the hell out of the nerds, he was not at all satisfied with the ending results. Tonight will be interesting.

._._._.

The Halloween ball, that was located at a ballroom, was filled with disco lights, common halloween decorations, finger food and drinks that were served out so none of it gets ruined or spiked, and the music being remixes of either new or famous halloween songs or not.

Seto was not at all amused of watching a crowd of people dancing, or girls staring at him. Kaiba didn't exactly dressed discreetly. He was dressed as Kaibaman which was a card that was to be manufactured and give him the chance to special summon one of his blue eyes white dragon. His face might have been mostly covered up, the way he sat intimidatingly gave him away.

He had arrived at the ball at seven thirty. And now had been waiting for over thirty minutes for the second-rate duelist to arrive. He had no idea of what to expect, but was sure that whatever he was wearing wasn't worth his time being wasted in this pointless event.

However, he may have been wrong because the DJ started playing Glamorous by Fergie as a spot light was hit at one of the curved staircases. That spot light was on a slow walking teen who wore a black latin salsa fringe dress that hugged at all the right places. Joey made himself known as the red eyes black dragon by wearing what could be considered a helmet that was made in the shape of the red eyes black dragon's head.

From what the experienced businessman could see, Joey had put on black eyeliner, mascara, and red lipstick which gave off this dramatic effect of subtle dominance. But the way the blond sauntered toward him in his sharp high heels with that sexy grin was not subtle at all.

Kaiba couldn't help grinning back. He felt like he was in one of those stripper bars where he was waiting for the blond to give him a lap dance. He had been to one underground stripper bars for a business meeting, but he was not at all thrilled with the place nor the meeting. Yet, if this blond was there, Seto's mood might have lighten up a bit. He pushed such thoughts away when Joey was standing right in front of him.

The Kaibaman was so glad that he had on the mask now because his lustful eyes might have given away his desire. The crossdresser asked with teasing seduction, "So what do you think?"

"What I think, Wheeler, is that we should go back into my limo, so I can have my every way with you however I want to. There's nothing more that I want to do than to ravish you in that dress, and tear it apart as I thrust my massive cock up your tight virgin ass and make you cry out and sweat in that car before I carry you into my room and discover how flexible you really are. I'm going to put your red eyes black dragon in face down position as I have my blue eyes white dragon white lightning all over your ass. And if you dare try to anger me, I am going to slap your ass so hard that you are going to find it difficult to sit for a week. Do I make myself clear, Wheeler?"

"Kaiba?"

Seto looked up at him.

"Kaiba, I asked of what do you think?!" Joey was getting annoyed. He had asked the idiot of what he thought, and he just stayed silent for a good minute! That whole reply before was just in the taller teenage boy's head. Yet, Joey wasn't a mind reader, and neither was Seto. The ex-gangster thought the CEO looked rather good in his own costume. Really good, actually.

Seto vocally replied with his always condescending smirk, "Am I supposed to be impressed? And here I thought that you would wear something the least bit decent but I was wrong."

Joey nearly dropped his jaw. Everyone else thought that he was super sexy in this! Even Tristan was against him going in this like some stupid overprotective older brother! And yet, here's Seto Kaiba! But he shouldn't be surprised. "As if you would know what decent is you oversized egocentric jerk! You wouldn't know what sex appeal is since you're as stiff as a robot! I bet you never even had your first boner yet!" He pointed with one of his black fingernails at the male's crotch!

Seto wanted to object to that since he's been having a boner problem recently, but was not going to admit that. Instead, he sneered at him. "As if a virgin like you would understand."

Joey blushed. "Being a virgin doesn't mean I haven't had one myself, dumbass! And I wouldn't be surprised if you were a virgin yourself!"

Seto chuckled, "Wouldn't you like to know."

The blond blushed hotter. He actually would like to know. "So are you?"

The brunet was shocked that the blond asked me so bluntly. That made this conversation sort of awkward, but he didn't see the problem of answering. However, they were surrounded by people who were eavesdropping. He had to have the duelist alone to discuss another important matter. "Not here, mutt." He grabbed the crossdresser's wrist, and pulled him out of the stupid place.

"Hey!" Joey didn't like being pulled, but he followed anyway until the two were standing out in the cold night air of October. They stood at a good spot where the paranoid male could spot anyone in hearing range. The blond shivered, and then was surprised to find Kaiba's coat over him.

"Don't ruin it, mutt." Kaiba ordered.

Joey grumbled, but thanked him for it. Kaiba gave a grunt of acknowledgement. The coat that the blond was wearing earlier was with the people who took care of holding the guests' stuff. "So are you? A virgin?"

"No." Seto replied straight-forwardly.

Joey's eyes widened at him. "Re-really? You?! Wow. I shouldn't be surprised, I guess, since a lot of girls would like a jackass like you. If you didn't give off deadly vibes, they would've practically swarmed around you like Duke. You CEOs are such show offs! I hate that the most out of you guys!"

"You just hate richer guys period."

"No I don't! I like Mokuba and Leon! They're rich, but not snobby like you assholes!"

"They don't have a company to run."

Joey growled, but Kaiba was right. "So...who was it?"

Seto complied in giving an answer since he didn't think his sex life was that interesting. And he knew Wheeler wouldn't talk about it to anyone like the date of his birthday. "Nobody you know or would care. I was fourteen and experiencing the hormonal part of puberty. I didn't believe in the whole love and sex speech. I simply did it as an experiment."

"You talk about sex like it's some kind of school project."

"It is. It's just an activity, but considering that I'm talking to a virgin, you may have far more idiotic idealistic thoughts on the matter." Though Seto was glad that the blond was a virgin. Not because he thought the second-rate duelist was clean or pure. It meant that the teen hadn't given anyone that type of special attention, and Joey seemed to be the type to give all his love during intercourse.

"Hey! I could sleep with someone if I wanted to!" The brown-eyed duelist snapped. "It's just that I haven't found anyone worth doing that sort of thing with!"

"Not even that poor excuse of a duelist who exposes way too much cleavage?" Seto remembered Battle City and the whole Dartz fiasco.

"Hey! Mai is a great duelist, and no, we didn't! She travels a lot and after what happened between us with Valon, we decided to just stay friends!" Joey frowned. He didn't like the idea that he was the virgin in the conversation. It would've made more sense if it were the other way around. He guessed he had his reasons. "I guess sex becomes less appealing from where I come from with all the prostitutes and single mothers walking around. I didn't want to end up as the guy who got a girl pregnant at sixteen or something."

"Poor you." Seto mockingly teased.

"Shut up!" The blond gripped the lapels of the coat tightly. "Of course you have nothing to worry about since you can just pay the girl you impregnated to keep her mouth shut and live somewhere else! Heartless bastard!"

"Or I simply know how to use a condom, and check on its expiration date. However, I doubt that you know how to check for the expiration date, much less read it."

Joey didn't know what the hell was Kaiba's problem! Why the hell was he spouting all this bullshit at him?! He did nothing wrong! He couldn't stop himself from grabbing Kaiba by his shirt. "Now listen here you giant-ass titan! I'm not afraid to beat you senseless in a dress!"

Kaiba grinned down at him. Oh, how he loved the pissed off look. "Don't get mad at me for your short comings."

"Oh, I'm gonna make you come alright!" Joey was about to punch him, but then realized of what he said. "Wait, I mean-!" It was too late. Kaiba was already howling with laughter. Joey didn't know how much hotter his blushes were becoming against the cold night air. "Shut up!" He threw the man back and then threw the coat at him. Joey shivered, but he was strong to withstand it. "Did you just bring me out here to laugh at me, you bastard!"

The laughing young man stopped his laughter, so he could reply, "No. I am here to discuss this." He took out the blue pen. Joey immediately recognized it as the pen that he got Kaiba for his birthday. If he wanted to discuss about it with him, then it meant that he knew. Mokuba was supposed to text him about it, but had forgotten.

Joey played stupid first to know of whether the taller teen actually did know though. "It's a pen."

Kaiba knew he was playing stupid which was ironic for him. He stifled his laughter, so that he could act more serious. His face displaying no other emotion except subtle irritation and dismay. "Good to know you have eyes, moron." Joey held himself back from throwing himself. "Since you know it's a pen, do you also happen to know of who gave me this pen?"

The crossdresser stayed silent for a moment. He played a convincing uninterested face as he observed the object. He guessed, "Your current hoe?"

Kaiba wanted to say yes. In fact he did, "Yes."

Joey looked incredulously at him. The face was pure comedy gold for the CEO that he had to use a part of his will to stop himself from laughing at his face. "Y-you're kidding right?"

"Now why would I lie, Wheeler? Unless you happen to already know of who truly given me this pen. So do you, or do you plan to keep playing games with me?"

The third best duelist scowled at him. "Alright! Fine! You caught me! I know, alright! And don't worry! I won't tell the gang or any reporter, no matter how much they paid me! I'm no snitch, so if that's what you wanted to talk to me about, then go! I came here to party."

"Not quit, mutt." Seto added, "I also expect you to no longer give me any presents."

The crossdresser huffed. It disappointed him that he couldn't make the teen happy some way, but he could save more money if he didn't do it anymore. "Whatever. I just did it to be nice. But if you don't like it, then I'll take it." The blond held out his calloused hand.

Kaiba kept the pen in his slim fingers. "I didn't say I didn't like it. Despite it's lack of quality, it will be competent for now."

That made the third best duelist happy to know Kaiba at least saw some worth in what he gave him. But it also irritated him that the guy can't just be honest. "Just say you like it. You don't have to be literate as if I give a damn." Joey retracted his hand. "So I bet you have some important meeting soon."

"No. I had my secretary clear my schedule for the night."

"For what? Don't tell me you actually plan on staying here."

"Mokuba wanted me to spend some time in one of these mediocre events."

"Uh huh." He sounded dubious, but then it was a plausible excuse. "Then are you gonna dance or sit on your ass all day like you do in that fancy shmancy office of yours."

"I do not see what is so appealing to moving your body carelessly to distasteful music."

"It's called having fun, smart-ass, and I guess you'd look awkward if you did. Do you know any dance styles at least? Maybe, we can work something for you to at least do one dance." Seto should do something fun for a short while.

Seto replied honestly, "I know all the ballroom dance styles from tango to swing." Though he doubt that the mutt could get him to do anything on the dance floor.

"Tango huh. I actually learned how to tango when I worked at this Italian bar. The bar had its own dance room, and one of the dance instructors taught me how." This surprised the CEO, yet he was doubtful of the puppy's skill.

"That poor woman's feet." He sneered.

Joey projected his voice to sound factual as he said, "For your information, I did not step on any feet, and the dance instructor was male, thank you very much. And he told me that I was pretty good."

"Heh." The young brunet crossed his arms. "I bet he was simply trying to get into your pants with those cheap compliments."

"Well, I did have the cutest butt in the bar." Joey walked past the taller male. Seto looked over his shoulder to observe the cute curve of the male's bottom. "He tried to give me private lessons, but I knew that he was planning on teachin' me something a little more than just tango. But I didn't give him the chance to get me to agree." The crossdresser smirked over his shoulder. A confident smirk that the second best duelist wanted to ravish so badly. "And I happen to know the DJ, so I can make a request. You just have to follow my lead."

Seto chuckled. "What makes you think that I will dance will you? Plus, you do realize that you are wearing a latin salsa dress correct? And for that matter, what makes you think that you have the lead at to the end. You may have it at first, but trust me, you won't have it for long."

Joey looked at him with sternful eyes, and then looked away to roll them. "Just shut up and follow me." He strode back into the ballroom where he went up to the people who was holding his stuff. He got back his purse where he took out his new phone. He gave back his purse before heading to the DJ who gave him a hug. Seto scowled at the intimate sight as he remembered of what happened earlier with a certain groupie of the blond's.

Joey gave the DJ his phone, and pointed at whatever was on the screen. The teen nodded and went back to his work.

The REBD cosplayer sauntered over to the BEWD one with a sexy sway to his hips. Joey placed his hands on Seto's chest as he motioned the man to walk back into the center of the dance. Everyone they passed stopped dancing to see of what was going on.

Joey told him over the music, "Don't let your mask hit mine, okay."

Seto gave a short breathy chuckle. "I should say the same to you."

The spotlights were on them. And then the music started which happened to sound like a modern day song he once heard Mokuba listening to on whatever device was popular back then: The english version of Objection by Shakira. He rolled his eyes at the choice. He expected a more classic song without lyrics, but this was Joey he was thinking about.

Hearing the modern song, Seto didn't take the dance seriously while Joey was determined to make the dance look amazing to their peers. So their dance started without chemistry between the two which annoyed the blond, so if they were going to have chemistry, Joey decided to take full charge of it by planting his feet with each step he took in front of the CEO having him step back.

Seto realized of what he was doing, so planted his own feet as he leaned forward to take ahold of the blond to display his own dominance. The two entered into spins and embraces in each other arms as they tried to push each other back. So far Seto looked like he was winning, but Joey had been doing his best at keeping up with the far more educated male by shaking his hips and letting the man's hands wander down whenever Seto grabbed him from behind, or dipping himself and kicking his legs out when he was grabbed from the front.

Tea was breathless by their performance for she was a dancer herself. She was dressed as Sally from the Nightmare before Christmas. "Wow, they are amazing."

"They're dueling." Yugi pointed out. He was dressed as Jack Skellngton. "If you really pay attention to this and their dueling, you realized that their the same. Seto has the advantage with his experience and intelligence, but Joey is also unpredictable and not the type to submit."

At some point, Joey surprisingly got Seto on one of his knees which he used to spread one of his legs on top of his shoulder, and put both of his hands behind the man's neck. Seto immediately stood up with his own arms wrapped around the blond's waist as he spun them until he let himself slow down and make the blond having his footing. The two return to their battle of dominance until the music began to end. Joey knew that Seto had him in his grip so let's it go with a big bang by twirling out of his grasp and then run back into his embrace by jumping himself on top of the male. His legs wrapped around his waist and then dipped himself back. His hands thrown out as if he had been laid to rest in the man's hands.

Seto really liked this position, and like it more when the blond leaned forward. The both of them were breathless for dancing nonstop for about four minutes. If these masks weren't in the way, he'd kiss the male.

Everyone around them cheered with a round of applause. Joey looked over at the crowd and waved his hand at them. Kaiba dropped him to see the blond glare fiercely at him. An unwavering fire in those eyes that turned on the male standing arrogantly above him.

He got up and dusted the back of his dress. Then someone came over to him with his phone. Joey took at it to see that he had missed a call and was left with a voice message. The male checked it. Seto observed him and glanced at the crowd for a moment as their audience were talking among themselves about their dance. He saw that some of them had recorded the whole event.

Joey made a face of shock. He looked to Seto and told him apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I gotta go."

"To where?" Seto sounded upset. He was since he was going to be alone at this event. He could just leave for home, but after what the two did, it sounded less appealing.

"The hospital. My dad got into a car accident. I need to go check out if he's alright."

The CEO was mildly shocked by this. Not his father being in an accident, but the blond checking on him out of concern. "Didn't you leave that man."

"Yeah, but he's my responsibility. I'm all he's got."

"Shouldn't that be the other way? I highly doubt that man deserves your care or support."

"You don't understand Seto. I can't abandon him." The way Joey said that made Seto curious of where all that sentiment came from for a gambling alcoholic who abused him. Was this Stockholm syndrome or something similar?

Not wanting to stay here, and wanting to know the blond's reasons, he provided, "Let me drive you."

"Are you sure?"

"If you're not going to be here entertaining me like the circus monkey you are, Wheeler, I have the time to drop you at the hospital, and go back to my work."

"Watch it, Kaiba." He warned him. "And thanks. I should tell Yugi and Tea." The male walked over to them, and told them the news. They wanted to follow, but Joey denied them, and told them to have a great night. His friends wanted to reject, but then they knew that this was a very personal family matter. If it was Serenity, it was different, but this was his father.

Seto's limo appeared within seconds since it was parked close by. The CEO told the chauffeur to stop at the Domino hospital first. The limo started, and Joey removed his helmet. He took out a napkin from his purse to wipe the sweat from his head, shoulders and chest. Seto took out his own mask, and was given a napkin to wipe the sweat off of him too. The both of them had put on deodorant so it didn't smell back in the car.

Joey then took out his makeup remover. Seto asked, "Why are you taking off your makeup?"

The blond replied as he took out his compact. "My dad doesn't like it when I'm dressed as a girl. This coat can cover my dress and I have shoes in my purse which I keep with me for emergencies like these."

"You shouldn't have to change how you look for his taste. It's no secret that your father abused you, and I remember that you came to school looking like you've been meet with a door several times just because you decided to put on a skirt."

The crossdresser paused his hand from removing his makeup. Seto had a point, but he had his reasons, too. "My dad isn't as bad as you think."

"Enlighten me."

"Even if I did, would you believe me or just think that I'm like a victim suffering Stockholm syndrome or too afraid to say anything. But I'm not. The reason why I stick with my dad is because he needs me."

Seto grimaced. He thought of Gozaburo's cruelty towards him. They weren't blood, and his real father was kind. So he couldn't empathize nor wish to sympathize with the other duelist. "What about you? Do you need him?"

Joey kept his eyes on his lap. "Of course I do. He's my dad."

"That doesn't answer my question. What you are saying is that you need him around to have a father. But you don't need the person who is your father."

The amber-eyed male softly glared at the CEO. "I need him to be my dad again. Before he became an alcoholic."

"Maybe if your dad actually cared about you, he wouldn't have been one in the first place." Seto was merely speaking his mind, and for that, he was given a punch to the face.

"Mr. Kaiba!" The driver cried out as he looked for a place to park. Seto told him to keep driving, but Joey demanded for the car to stop so he can walk there instead.

"Don't be an idiot, hospital is still over ten blocks away."

"It's nothing I can't handle! And don't fuckin' speak about my dad as if you know him!"

"Why are you defending the man who hurts you?!"

"He didn't mean, too! He can't help it when he's drunk! He has a problem!"

"That's just an excuse!"

"No it's not! You don't know the person he used to be! If we weren't so dirt poor to begin with, he would've gotten the help he needed!"

"Can he really be helped?! What kind of father still continues to drink when he knows that by doing so, he hurts you!? What kind of father gambles his money away when he knows he needs it to keep you fed?!"

"I'm not hearing any of this! You don't understand! None of you guys will ever understand! Stop the car!"

"Keep driving!"

The driver was scared and confused even if the argument wasn't about him. It was like a child listening to the argument of his or her parents.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?!" Joey yelled. He barked, "You always keep telling me to buzz off, so why won't you let me leave!"

"Because I care about you, okay?!" Seto confessed. Both him and Joey was shocked by this.

"What?" The shorter male whispered. The two then realized that they were facing each other and leaning close as they tried to bring their voices higher and higher. But now it was silent between them.

Seto sat back against the chair as he covered his mouth. He rewinded their conversation back in his head, and then removed his hand. He decided to not keep the cold facade up anymore. Not when he wanted the upper leverage in this conversation. "I said that I care about you, Wheeler."

Joey blinked at him. He was stunned by the confession that he wasn't sure of what to say. But he felt like he had to say something, so he asked, "When?"

The brunet wasn't sure, but he was all about giving direct answers. "I supposed that it was back when the lunatic, Dartz, was trying to rule the world with his useless dragon. I felt...worry for when the card, that happened to be in my deck somehow, had its light fade strangely. And I was not happy at all when I found you unconscious next."

Joey was dumbfounded because that was last year when they were juniors. He didn't notice Kaiba's attitude towards him change at all. He really couldn't believe the teen next to him. "Uh, wow...But that doesn't change the fact that you're an asshole, and I want out of this car so I don't have to see your scrawny face."

"Give it up, Wheeler. I am dropping you out of that hospital, and then bringing you home when you're done with your visit."

"Hey! You said that you're just gonna bring me to the hospital!"

"I changed my mind. You already know that I care for you Wheeler, and I want to make sure that you get home safely." Seto knew that Joey would just call a taxi, but the blue-eyed duelist needed the blond to limit his time with his father. He was unsure of what may happen if he were to leave. It was foolish to think that Joey's father may hurt him, but what if the man was dead? He wanted to be there for the duelist. He understood the grief of losing a parent.

"I don't need you to protect me!" Joey barked.

"And you can't make me leave you." The CEO pointed out. "Anyways, what happened to your whole friendship speech about being there for one another."

"As if you believe in all that! Isn't your work more important?!"

"Nothing I can't finish tomorrow."

"Geeze, I feel so loved." The blond said sarcastically. He sat back against the seat with his arms crossed. He realized that he still had his makeup remover and compact in hand. He decided to not bother removing his makeup anymore so put them back in his purse. His father might be in a coma for all he knew.

Though he was thinking that sarcastically, he couldn't help but feel worried by that. He wanted someone to be there for him, but when it came to his father, he was used to handling it alone. Not that he felt good about it afterwards. What he did feel after those troubling times was an emptiness and failure.

He remembered back to those abusive times when his drunk father would hurt him. He knew that those brutal moments were not his fault, but he couldn't help feeling useless afterwards. He was eight when his father became a drunk gambler. He knew something was wrong with his father, and he acknowledged that his father needed help after reading books on people with addiction problems. But he couldn't give the help since he had a life of his own to build, and his mother was no help either.

Now that his father was in this trouble, there was a medical bill to pay, and he knew that he had to take care of it like he always had to. And here, he thought that he could buy himself something really nice for a change with all that money he earned. But now, he made his decision.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. Joey looked over at Seto who kept his stoic expression. The spoiled brat told him, "I am not going to give you any false hope, Wheeler, but I will tell you this: I am here for you if you will accept it."

Joey looked at him with big surprised eyes. And then he frowned at the male. He wasn't going to sugar coat the taller teen into thinking that he was actually happy about that. If it was Yugi or even Ryou, he would have smiled at their support, but he didn't have to pull some smile to make someone else less worried for him. But it was nice to know that someone as heartless as Kaiba could try to comfort him even if there could be some kind of angle to it.

Though he appreciated that Seto wasn't sugar coating his comfort either. He didn't assume that his father was okay. If worse came to worse, he may be able to lie on his shoulder for a good cry or two without the added coos that his friends might have given him.

So Joey muttered, "Thanks Kaiba."

The rest of the car ride was silent. A few minutes later, they were finally in front of the hospital. Joey opened the door himself so he could run to the hospital counter as fast as he could. Seto got out of his own limo as he told the driver to park nearby. The male followed the blond to the counter in long strides to keep up.

Joey told the hospital receptionist, "There's a guy named Joshua Wheeler who was in a car accident recently. I'm his son Joseph Wheeler."

"And he is?" The receptionist referred to Kaiba.

"Nobody who needs to mind his own business." Joey growled at him as if it was another language that meant to leave.

Kaiba huffed at him. "I'll be waiting here."

"You could have just waited in the car, ya know."

"Just get on with your family visit."

Joey growled again, but then held back his anger because, again annoyingly, the walking statue was right. "So my dad."

"Yes, he's at room 203. You can see him. He only suffered a broken leg which will take six to eight weeks to heal."

"Thank you." Joey gave a glare at Kaiba before he made his way to the room. Seto took his seat that was located at the corner. He took out his cellphone so Roland could tell him everything that had happened thus far in his company without his presence.

While he was busy, Joey entered the room that had his father. The man was sitting up with the bed curved to help him stay up since his leg was casted and hanging up.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" His father questioned.

"My costume. What the fuck are you were you doing driving drunk?" Joey pulled a chair that was at the corner to the side of his old man's bed.

Joey's father had blond buzz cut hair and amber eyes like him. The man had a full beard and a triangle face shape while Joey's own was a diamond and clear face shape. His father had a beer belly unlike Joey who sported abs.

His father told him, "Is that a-"

"Cut the bullshit, dad. The doctor told me that you hit a tree, and he told me how drunk you were. You didn't hit that tree by accident." Joey found it hard to breath when he said that. He may be pissed at the man, and refuse to admit that he hates him, but he was still his dad. "I know how many beers it takes before you do something stupid."

The old man's face was somber. "What do you expect me to say?"

"That you'll go to rehab." His son said clear cut. "I can afford it now."

"With what money? The money you made by looking like that?!"

"I'm not a drag queen! And there's nothing wrong with being one!"

"Tch. You're such a fag."

"You know I am, and don't fucking pull being a bullshit of a dad card just so you can talk me out of helping you!"

"I'm not pulling any card! I hate you! I can't stand the sight of you, you fuckin' faggot!"

"Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are! You think I don't hear you crying at night about what a god awful father you are! The walls are fuckin' thin as paper, you piece of shit!"

"You think you're so smart! Why the fuck doesn't your report card says so!"

"Because I had to take care of you!"

"Why don't you just take care of yourself!"

"Because I love you! Now go to fuckin' rehab! Accept that you have a problem so I can start taking care of myself!"

"You can do it without wastin' your money on me!"

"I'm not abandoning you like mom!"

"She did it because she was smart enough to leave a bunch of shits like us unlike a retard like you!"

"No, I never left because I chose to make sure that you are okay! Don't fuckin' act like some ghost makes your breakfast and lunch every morning!"

"Well, you didn't have to do that!"

Joey threw his hands up in the air, got up from his seat, and then placed his forehead against the wall. A nurse opened the door and asked if everything was alright. Joey replied that it was, and then was told to please keep it down for the other patients. The Wheelers agreed, and then she left.

The two blonds glared at each other. Joey looked away as he lied sideways against the wall. He said, "I won't put you in a rehab unless you want to. I don't want to make you feel like I'm throwing you into some loony bin. I visited the rehab place. It's really nice. They have a swimming pool, nice rooms, and you don't sit in some creepy lit room to talk about your problems."

"Shut the fuck up, Joe." The alcoholic sighed out tiredly.

Joey felt incredibly pissed, but he contained his temper because he didn't want to fight right now after their shouting match. "I have a crush on a guy at school."

There was silence before his dad asked, "Oh? Is he gay, too?" The man didn't really have a problem with it. He found it surprising that his son was one, but his sexuality didn't effect his son's behavior. But it does become an excuse for his drunk counterpart to use to beat him.

"I don't know. He's waiting for me right now at the waiting area."

"Then why aren't you talking to him instead?"

"Cuz he's a prick. He thinks that I shouldn't bother with you anymore."

"Smart guy."

"He is. He's a freakin' smart ass who owns his own gaming company."

"He's rich?" The sparked the old man's interest. But he tried to downplay it to not make his son think he's supporting him just for the money. Although, that would be a nice bonus if they got together.

"Yeah, but I don't care about that. I wouldn't have a crush on the guy if I hadn't seen the other sides of him. I mean he's like a fuckin' robot dictator who takes things way too seriously. He doesn't know how to have fun."

"And he owns a gaming company? Meant for kids?" There was a comedic irony floating in the room, but neither was up for laughter. "So what's so great about this guy?"

"He has a little brother who he takes care of and also really loves. His little brother has the tendency to be kidnapped, and that guy doesn't hesitate to save him and neither does his little brother. I admire that kind of thing since Serenity and I got separated. But not only that, he's fearless, hot as hell, and I won't lie that he impresses me with how he duels."

"So he's a duelist like you?"

"Yeah. And he takes duel monsters way too seriously that he doesn't know how to just have fun. He can't stand the idea of losing, and talks trash to me whenever we duel. Although what he says isn't as bad as what you shout at me when your drunk." Joey smiled. Thinking about Kaiba was ironically making this situation brighter for him. "He thinks that he can kick me down, but I'm never gonna give up in the middle of our duel from his trash talk. I'm also never gonna give up on him because we're also friends. He just told me before I got here that he cared about me for the first time because he was afraid of what might happen if I see you. He didn't say the last things I said, but I know that's the reason. No one knows that I'm still taking care of you even if I have my own apartment. They wouldn't understand. Maybe Yugi would understand, but he's so sensitive. I still need to teach him to be a man." The duelist smiled more as he thought of all his friends.

They became silent. Joey looked over at his dad to see him with a contemplating face. Then the man looked at him with tearful eyes. The teen knew his father could be strong, but the man fell to addiction which left him vulnerable. The man opened his mouth, closed it as he moved his line of sight to the side, and then looked back at his son. He opened his mouth again, and said, "You sound like you have a good life, kid."

Joey approached his father. He grabbed the man's hand, and gave it a firm squeeze. "And I want you to be a part of it again. I want my dad back, and now, I can do that...if you let me, pops." Tears formed in the teen's eyes. He bit his lip to force those tears back.

His dad couldn't hold back his own, and let them slide. He nodded his head. "I want to come home." he sobbed as he had his hand hold Joey's own tightly.

Seto was speaking to several people on his phone, yet hung up and then called for the limo to come when he saw Wheeler returned. He walked up to him, and saw that the male's nose was red and eyes were teary. He asked, "Did everything go well?"

Joey nodded. The two walked out and then entered to the limo. The trip to the bond's house was only several minutes, and it was spent in silence. Kaiba didn't want to talk about how the blond's meeting went with his father since it must be personal, and as long as Joey didn't look deeply hurt, it was okay.

When they reached his house, Joey looked Kaiba straight in the eye, and thanked him, "Thanks for the ride Kaiba, and...telling me that you care about me. Does that mean we're friends or what?"

"I suppose it does, but do not tell your friends. I don't want them to think that I actually care about them, too, if I care about you. And do not act like we are friends at school. We will remain distant from each other, and fight like any other day."

Joey snorted, "As if us officially becoming friends would have change anything. But what about the how birthday thing with giving presents? You know, my birthday is on January twenty-fifth. It's not hard to forget." He winked at him.

Kaiba silently chuckled, "Do you want presents?"

"If you don't mind me giving you a present or two on yours."

"Why do you want to give me a present? You'd be wasting your money."

"So it's fair! I'm not going to accept a present unless I can give one in return!"

"You're annoying, mutt."

"Don't change the subject! Just give me a yes or no, ya prick!"

Seto thought about it. He didn't want to be given presents, and he didn't have to give presents to the blond on his birthday. "Then don't expect to get any presents from me on your birthday."

Joey was butt hurt to be given a lengthy no. Though this may be one of the CEO's cruel facades. "Fine! But if I get a present, even if it's from an anonymous person, I'm giving you one!"

"Don't be difficult you, idiot." Seto was planning on giving one anonymously if he felt like he was in the mood to give one, but he guessed he had to be wary of that threat.

Joey growled at him. "Then don't be such a fuckin' robot! Honestly, if the world was to be overrun by robots, I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of some dictating robot who happens to look exactly like you!"

Kaiba smirked. "Your poor creative skills is nauseating. I think it's about time that you get out of my limo, monkey."

"Monkey?!" Joey's eye twitched as he grabbed the male's shirt, pulled him in, and then wrapped his arms around his torso. They stayed like that for a moment.

"What are you doing?"

Joey grinned against his shoulder. The taller male felt the movement of those lips. "I'm hugging you, ya nimwit! I know that you're a freaking popsicle, but even popsicles have been hugged, too."

Kaiba scowled. Joey of all people didn't have the right to call him a nimwit. Especially after using popsicles as a metaphor. "Get off me Wheeler. Your makeup will smeer on my coat."

"Gawd, your such a freak." Joey moved back and had there face so close. Kaiba felt his breath against his lips as he spoke, "But fine. I'm leavin'. Thanks fer the ride, you big palooka." The driver had already open the door for him which he thanked him for before making his way to his apartment.

The Kaiba corp. owner watched him enter the building before ordering his driver to take him home. Kaiba still felt the warmth that was pushed against him during that hug, and the slight aches of his muscles from dancing with the blond. He did feel like this night was somewhat successful that he was happy, but he was concerned of how his confession to the male will be handled by the blond in the future.

._._._.

A/N: And so the fourth chapter where Kaiba moves from sexual desires to friendship. Not necessarily the friendship zone, but a new zone he has to think about while his sexual desires are becoming somewhat tamed, but still there. Seto can tame his sexual desires and will through cold stubbornness!


	5. Chapter 5

Nothing changed back at school between Joey and Kaiba except for the crossdressing male giving him an acknowledging glance, and smile with an ocassional wave. Seto merely returned it with a cold glance, and then ignore him completely as he sat at his desk and either read or did his work.

What did change around them was Kaiba's fangirls. When they returned to school after the night of the dance, Joey was greeted by his own fan girls and boys like usual at the hallways. They were praising him for his dancing skills, and members from a dance team suggested that he should join them. Yet, the blond kindly declined since he was understandingly too busy, but it was worth the try.

The blond was engrossed in the attention that he did not expect to be slapped hard by one of the girls before him. Kaiba was in the classroom and had heard the harsh smacking sound and the deathly silence that followed. He did not care for drama but then heard the girl, who slapped his mutt, accused him of stealing Kaiba away from those who were far more in love and devoted to him. She bitterly lashed at him with accusations of dressing up as a disgusting trangendered whore who needed to know that his unreal gay affinity for Seto Kaiba was appalling and that the male should go back to being the dog he truly is.

Kaiba was greatly appalled by the female's assumptions. Joey's fan girls and boys began to verbally attack her, but they stopped. The CEO stood up from his seat, and walked out of the classroom to see of what was going on. The blond had his hand rose mid air and then lowered it.

He said calmly, "That's a whole lotta assumptions you're making about me. I am gay, not going under any process of becoming an actual girl, and I am dressing for Kaiba, but I'm doing it because we're playing a game as just friends. That tango dancing you saw was us just playing a game like always. Us trying to one up the other. I understand you're angry, but you should direct that anger towards something more productive than yelling at someone as if it will change anything. Seto won't like you by being a bitch to me, and that's the facts."

The girl who assaulted him fell on her knees in tears. Joey sighed out, and then glanced over at the blue-eyed duelist who he knew was standing there. The blond just left the girl crying on the floor which practically left a message for the other Kaiba fan girls to not mess with him. He can beat you down without using his fist. This impressed the second best duelist in the world.

Then one day the blond didn't show up for class. Kaiba was able to understand why by listening to his friends whose mouths seemed to get bigger and bigger as time went by. It took place during one of their many recesses. Tristan supplied to his friends and indirectly the cold CEO, "Joey gave me a text that he had some business to take care of."

"So did I." Ryou said. "What do you think that he may be doing? I hope he's not in some sort of trouble, again."

Duke suggested, "He must be filling out contracts with one of the talent agencies. Joey asked me for some contacts and places he could go to. I guessed he took my advice to become an actor."

"Joey?" Tristan found that disbelieving at first, but then remembered the dice monsters commercial. "I guess he did look pretty good in your commercial. Your game has been selling like crazy since then. My nephew bought one since he was convinced that it was any actual good." He got a good kick to the shin for that one.

"Wow, so Joey's going to become an actor." Tea thought that it was nice that her and Joey had similar dreams. Maybe she'll dance in own of his movies or shows. But it was a bit concerning, too. "What happened to his dream of becoming a restaurant owner?"

Noboody knew. Yugi guessed, "Maybe being an actor is a part time thing. If actors have that sort of thing. I'm pretty sure that he's just opening his options." That made a lot of sense. Then the group discussed about other matters in their own lives.

Seto wasn't satisfied with those answers. Without a second thought, he used his sources to know of what the blond was actually doing. It was only natural since Seto already did that before him and Joey became...friends.

It was a strange feeling for the proud duelist to tell himself that they were friends. He never had a friend before. He wasn't even sure if he was being friends with Joey correctly. It was a completely new experience for the CEO despite the blond having told him that he already considered them friends before it became official between them.

How did friends react to each other? Was it similar to his business meetings with other clients or business owners, except with actual fondness for the person?

Seto certainly wasn't going to act nicer, or change drastically for the blond. But he couldn't deny that he was uncomfortable with who he currently was. He remembered Gozaburo's teachings to him that there's no such things as friends in the world. Just potential enemies or clients. The only person he can depend on was himself, and that worked for him.

Then Seto, in an annoyed state, thought about Yugi; the one he still thought was a hologram who was entitled as some sort of pharaoh from the past. He thought about his annoying jabbering about working as a team, and to trust one another. Seto rolled his eyes. He felt a head ache coming up from those memories. Neither of them was enjoyable to reminisce.

And then he remembered what Wheeler said back at the near end of Battle City. The dog blabbering about himself being a lonely bully once, but then discovered that looking out for others helped him get stronger.

But how the hell was that going to make the CEO stronger? He was already someone that every man wished they could be, and who a majority of the female and male population wanted. What could friendship possibly give him that he doesn't already have?

Seto wasn't going to figure this out on his own, and looking it up on the internet would be pointless. So he turned to the only person he could count on.

"What you can gain from friendship?" Mokuba repeated Seto's question, though it was a dumbed down version. The two were having dinner together in their mansion.

"Yes. Wheeler and I have officially come to an understanding that we are friends due to my less spectacular moments of confessing that I may actually care for him." Seto said that without a moment to breathe.

Mokuba knew that his brother was acting a bit like one or two of those Japanese stereotypes: Kuuderes with a pinch of tsundere. Though the younger brother kept that opinion to himself, and then expressed his surprise. "You and Joey?!"

Seto took a sip of his wine before he replied, "Yes. As hard as it is to believe. He has a way of throwing me off guard which is unsettling."

The younger Kaiba wasn't sure if that was such a bad thing since Seto needed a good shake or two from his usual self. "Well...Back to your question, I guess it depends on who you're friends with. My friend Sonny is someone I can talk to about personal stuff while my other friend, Kiichi is someone who I can play sports with and is a lot more fun to play video games with than Sonny."

Seto was aware of Mokuba's friends. He had done deep background checks on both males before he silently accepted their friendship. "I see. And what sort of personal stuff do you discuss with your friend, Sonny?" The paranoid male questioned suspiciously.

His younger brother caught on to the tone, so reassured his big brother. "Nothing about Kaiba corp. or anything about our business unless it will be common knowledge to the crowd. But most of the time it's just about girls, what's on TV and homework. Nothing serious." Mokuba then returned the conversation back to Seto, "So what you're asking me is what you can possibly gain from Joey being your friend? Weird. I thought you would already know what that is."

Seto rose an eyebrow to this. He was not aware of him having any mutual interactions where he gained anything of worth from the mutt. "It so happens that I do not, Mokie. Can you please enlighten me of what I could possibly gain from the second-rate duelist?"

Mokuba took a moment to think about how to say his answer as he took a gulp of his water. He looked down at his food with a distant yet thoughtful expression. "I think it's, uhm, a new perspective, I guess." That almost sounded correct.

However, Seto wasn't understanding him. "And what sort of perspective does Wheeler give me?"

"About life, I guess. I mean, with Kaiba corp., it's all about business. With me, it's about raising me. And with Yugi, it's all about dueling. With other people, they aren't worth your time unless you need to use them. Though Yugi does try to make you be friends with him and the rest of his friends, Joey just talks to you for the heck of it. He made you dance tango for fun!"

Seto frowned. "I don't see how that has anything to do with perspective." Perspective was having an idea of something such as what one's perspective would be of a piece of painting while another would think differently from what they saw due to both participants having different life experiences. He couldn't fathom at the moment of what Joey made him see differently of the world that gave the CEO any worthy inspiration.

"Okay, maybe I was way off on that," The pre-teen shrugged his shoulders, and then had his fork hold down his steak to be cut. "But you got to admit that he makes you have fun."

Kaiba sneered at that guess, but then he thought about the Halloween night, and the time at Battle City when the blond kept telling him to loosen up. During that duel, Joey wasn't so overly annoying and persistent about it. It was as if the idiot was confident that whatever he said would get through to him. Or perhaps didn't care of what would happen.

The brunet didn't know which one in the latter of his thoughts upset him more. He shouldn't care of whether the mutt did care for him then, but what about now? How much did the blond truly cared for him...as a friend?

._._._.

Joey returned back home. What he had been doing so importantly that he had to skip school was that he had to bring his dad to the rehab center, and made sure that the man was comfortable with the place. Joshua Wheeler liked the rehab therapist that he met. Not because it was a good looking woman, but because it was a very modest and forward male who was unnaturally charming.

His father wasn't put off with his new therapist's, Mr. McConnen's, personality. Instead, the elder Wheeler smiled when the man smiled, and the two shook hands like friends. Mr. McConnen welcomed them with easy-going excitement, and promising words that Mr. Wheeler felt that he could trust him and the place.

After a tour of the rehab, his dad thought that the place was decent, and that he was thankful to Joey that he was going to try as hard as he can to not take a single drop of alcohol or play a single gambling game. To make sure of that, the old man gave himself a new goal that he was going to use the work out room to get rid of his beer belly and get a six pack just like his son except he'll look better.

Joey snorted at the thought as he genuinely smiled at his accomplishments. Now he just had to work extra hard to not only pay the bills of his apartment, clothes, cosmetics, and food, but also the very expensive rehab bills which are over thousands of dollars a month. The blond was able to pay for a few months in advance since he had over one million in the bank from the money he had left over after paying for his little sister's operation.

He had invested smartly, and had been building up from there in order to not only be able to buy his future restaurant, but also pay for Serenity's wedding when the girl ever found the lucky man. He still had money to pay for her wedding, but not enough to buy his own restaurant as soon as he wanted.

After hearing his father purposely try to kill himself, he decided to postpone his own dreams to save him. Joey honestly thought that he could just take care of the man from the sidelines by sending money every now and then, but then realized at that moment in the hospital that his dad really truly needed help from his addiction.

The young male knew that it wasn't going to take a few months to help the man. So he had to take a job that will pay the big bucks, and that was selling himself to the media. Duke said that he had the talent, so he had to take the risk, and build up his popularity. It wasn't hard to find companies who were interested in him since his popularity grew thanks to his blog and dueling history. Though some was hesitant due to his violent past despite many of the fights was him being cornered.

Either way, he signed up with a company he thought had the potential to help him. It wasn't a big company, but he truly liked the CEO.

._._._.

"Are you crazy?" Duke questioned in his office. He was seeing Joey about another commercial that they could do since the last one was a success. The blond was sitting on a chair in front of his office desk with wide blinking eyes. The dice CEO clarified, "You were wanted by the top companies in Domino City, and yet you decided to go with a company I never even heard of before. What were they called?"

"The Draco agency!" Joey answered with an excited tone that almost fooled Duke into believing it was a grand place. "At least it has a pretty rad name!" The cross dresser pointed his finger up with a wink to openly express the coolness of it. The teen was actually in his male clothes since he wasn't going to see Kaiba who was having business abroad. He also wanted to lay off the cosmetics for now.

The black haired duelist rolled his eyes. "That's besides the point. I checked the company's success stats, and so far it's not good. Many of its clients end up leaving for more experienced companies. I'm just sayin' man that you should consider doing the same thing if you want to get more famous and more money."

"Fame and money is important for me, but y'see, the CEO and I just clicked! I know he won't let me down! I feel it right here in my gut and it has never let me down!" The blond duelist pointed his thumb at his stomach. "And you can't blame it since it's new! All it needs is for it to have a grand idol representing the company and that idol will be me!" He redirected that thumb to his best winning grin.

Duke sighed. This was Joey who he was talking to. "At least your agent sounds professional when you gave me her phone number so we can have this meeting."

"Yup! See! The company knows what it's doing!" The agent that the company gave Joey was a woman named Kiyoko who was as tall as Kaiba with light brown skin, round green eyes put behind a pair of reading glasses, and pastel pink bob hair. She told him that she dyed her hair so that she could stand out, and it definitely works. The first time they met, she appeared very straight-laced due to being new at her job. Though she also showed to be confident and smart, so Joey believed in her.

The dice CEO let go of the topic since he already knew from past experience that there was no way to change the blond's mind. Even if the company became a flop, the male would just keep trying harder to bring it back up. Though the green-eyed teen hoped that the agency wouldn't abuse his friend's strong will and naive mind. He made a note to threaten the agency's CEO to never do such a thing to his friend.

Duke then said, "So, what plans does your company have for you?"

Joey replied, "Well, they want me to continue doing my blog, and to continue making commercials with you, but they also want me to enter some duel tournaments in my girl clothes. They are going to try to get me into some plays and newbie stuff to see what kind of genres I fit in best."

That sounded good. The two duelist returned to discussing the commercial with schedules.

After that, Joey was called by Kiyoko who saw his schedule of the commercial shoots. She was able to find another gig for him to do if he thought he would have the energy to do it. "It's a small comedy play, and I already signed you up for auditions for the lead female part." The woman told him with a strict even voice over the phone. "The play will be performed two weeks from now. So I ask you this now, Mr. Wheeler, do you think you have the capacity to memorize two completely different scripts and play two different parts. I understand that this is your senior year, but I had informed your school to make you a special exception. So what is your answer?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Chill out Kiyoko!" Joey was sitting relaxed on his sofa. "I mean I don't mind, but you sound so much on edge."

"You are my first project. I have to make perfect." The woman told him with a cold tone that reminded him too much of a brunet.

"And I will be! But you got to have more faith in me Kiyoko. Just like I have faith that you won't let me down!" Joey told her with all the passion he had inside him, yet hinting that he still had way more left to give.

"Just give me an answer. Can you handle two types of work or not?"

"You bet I can! Just send me both scripts and I promise you that I have both memorized separately by the next day!"

Kiyoko highly doubted that, but at least the blond had what was truly more important than a good memory, and that was a beaming aspiration that seemed to never fade. She had the feeling that she wasn't going to ever get bored with the blond around.

And so Joey was given two of the scripts after auditioning and damn was it hard! He tried remembering one script perfectly first during his time at school which was the comedy play's own. It was quite funny that he had to stop his snicker every now and then. But his grin really gave it away that his friends kept bothering him during recess of what the script was about, but the blond told them to go to the play instead.

He told his own local followers on the blog to come to the play as well in a funny video that Tea helped edit.

"Remembered your script for my commercial, Joey?" Duke asked during lunch at the cafeteria. The bandana wearing male was sitting at one of the table with his friends. Joey's fan girls were sitting nearby on a table or on the floor so that they could be near their idol. Kaiba's own fangirls did so for the young man who was eating alone.

The blond stopped himself from shoving his sandwich in his face to reply in his feminine voice, "Yup! It's only about ten lines anyway!"

"True, but you gotta make sure that you don't mix up the lines with the play you're performing in."

"Please!" Joey waved his hand as if lightly slapping the worry away. "I got this in the bag! Joey Wheeler always comes prepared!"

"Until you mess up." Tristan teased.

Joey bared his teeth at him. "What was that pin head?! I'll show you who messes up!"

Everyone else laughed. The blond mildly growled at them. Then Yugi suggested, "Hey, why don't we finally have Kaiba sit next to us for once? It is our senior year, he should be fine sitting with us by now."

Tristan scoffed. "Give it up, Yugi. The bastard won't sit with us even if you asked, and it'll only cause more trouble for Joey."

Tea agreed, "I hate to say it, but it is true."

Though Ryou backed up the tri-colored haired teen, "Oh, it can't be that bad. How about we have Joey ask him to come sit with us?"

"Are you crazy?" Duke questioned. "I think his fangirls heard you because I'm starting to feel their glares give me a shiver and they're not even directed at me."

A chair squeaked. Everyone was surprised to find Joey stand up. "Ryou and Yugi's right. Maybe it is about time we let that cold-hearted bastard sit with us."

Tristan spoke for the disagreeing ones, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? If you're just doing this to piss of the guy's fangirls more, then you'll have another storm coming after you, and girls are nasty at what they can come up with."

Joey shrugged. They didn't know that Kaiba and him had officially considered each other friends, and he wasn't going to be surprised that the blue-eyed duelist would reject him to keep that secret, but he figured that it was something to do since he's been cramping his head with scripts and work. He needed a new form of excitement so he was walking into the lion's den.

He turned to the Kaiba corp. owner, and walked to him. He was careful as he walked before a girl had scooted her chair back against him. He stepped to the side and then forward. A girl's leg shot out, but he was quick on his feet to make the jump, and then dodge the chocolate milk that was flung to the air as the one who threw it acted like it was an accident.

One of the girls made a dick move by having an innocent student holding a tray trip in front of him. Joey made a quick move to grab the tray with one hand and then hold the person up by wrapping an arm around the female. "Are you okay?"

The girl looked at him and their faces were really close. She blushed as she got her footing and took her tray from him. She thanked him before making a hasty retreat.

The blond then finally reached the brunet who bluntly said without removing his eyes from his food, "No."

Joey grimaced, and not surprised. "Fine. I just came over to see of whether one of your crazed fangirls would try to jump me. They put up some dirty tricks, but nothin' I couldn't handle."

"If that is all then leave."

"Alright. Alright. Nice to see that we're going to spend whatever time we have left this year with you here while I'm over there with my friends." Then a thought came to Joey that made him curious. "So how are you going to celebrate Thanksgiving? I'm going to spend mine with my dad."

Seto now looked at the blond with cold eyes of disbelief. "Then this must mean that the rehab center, that you have sent him to, must be doing wonders for his mental health."

Joey was, again, not surprised that the paranoid asshole knew. "So you are spyin' on me."

Seto would hardly call it spying as it was more of keeping tabs on close people from time to time. Yet, he didn't want to debate over that matter. "I hope this doesn't put a dent into our so-called...friendship." He said it in almost a whisper so only the monkey before him could hear. The word still sounded so foreign to him now that it was being used in a personal context. The eighteen year old male did feel slightly weird to be acting the same cold bastard that he knew he was, but he didn't know how else to act to relief that unease.

The blond rolled his eyes by how dramatic Seto said the last word. "I don't mind since I have nothin' skeevy goin' on. And my life's bound to become less private with how famous I'm becomin'."

The brunet snorted. "Please Wheeler, your fame is due to your dumb luck and incompetence to be a true winner. The public sees you as an underdog, and I stress the dog part. When your peers want something from you, you will do it for a treat. Someone that everyone knows doesn't have any true talent, but willing to root for to pass their needless time."

Joey glowered down at him. Seto was right about him being lucky to being famous due to the fact that he was always a runner up duelist, and he hadn't been at the top of many tournaments. If he hadn't adorned the female clothing, many of the agencies who wanted him before wouldn't have. But the rest was just down right insulting. If he was his old self without the media keeping tabs on him and his father's medical bills on the line, he would've signaled to his friends that he was going to attack so they can stop him. But now he had to be cautious and control his temper. He was doing this for his father.

So he crossed his arms and reminded the CEO, "You didn't answer my question of what you and Mokuba plan on doin' for Thanksgivin'. Jus' curious."

Seto was surprised that the mutt didn't bark at him. In fact, he was anticipating it. But the male understood that they were being watched in public, and the cross dresser actually had to be presentable in public for once. This both impressed and disappointed the duelist.

He sharply replied, "Nothin' that is your concern, mutt. For that matter, you specifically said that you came over here to test these pathetic females for your own amusement. Not to bother me with this talk. I may consider you as a...friend, but that doesn't give you the benefit to waste my time with this pointless talk."

Joey placed his hands firmly on the table, and whispered harshly, "I just wanted to know of what you were doin'?!"

"And like I had replied, it is none of your business, loser."

The shorter male balled his hands to fists, and stopped them from flinging themselves at the brunet's face. His amber eyes are sparking a fire that wanted to be set free, but they were being blasted by a firehose of reason, care and need. Despite Seto's sharp tongue, he took a seat, and said throuhg his teeth. "C'mon Kaiba. Graduations months away but that's gonna fly away before ya know it, and it's not secret that we're not goin' to see each other as often like this. So get off yer fuckin' high horse already an' jus' be straight wit' me already."

Seto gave a small smirk, "Oh, but I am being straight with you, mutt."

Joey's eye twitched and he clenched his fists on the table so hard that his knuckles turn white and his nails were injecting themselves into his skin. He spoke through his gritted teeth again, "Fine bastard. If that's how you want it, then I'm guessin' that I won't be seein' you at my play. But maybe Mokuba will be interested unlike you, ya asshole!"

He stood up turned away and kicked the leg that popped right in front of him so hard that the girl who stuck it out did a two-seventy degree turn on her chair. Her wide eyes looking at cross dresser who is showing the middle finger upside down against his hip to be discreet. He took his seat with his friends and stuffed a whole sandwhich in his mouth.

And to think he could get a decent word out of that biotches' mouth! Friends! Joey should be laughing disdainfully at the word when it has Seto Asshololic Kaiba in context! He sipped his chocolate milk so angrily and then crushed the box when he finished. His friends just stared at him eat like some sort of robot with a permanent glare of death on its face.

Joey also can't believe he even considered that he liked the guy! And he didn't mean the friendship kind of like. He meant that he might actually considered the brunet to be a hottie and wouldn't mind being wrapped around the man's arms more intimately, and perhaps share a kiss. The blond felt a blush rise for his cheeks, but he didn't have to try to restrain it because when his food is gone, he began thinking about the butterflies he felt before.

He decided to be more realistic to himself. If he were to date Kaiba, it wouldn't be great. He meant, yeah, all couples have their problems, but Kaiba wasn't an ordinary teenage boy. Dating him would require a lot of patience and persistence, and Joey was sure that he could do that, but he wasn't sure that he had enough love to stand for it, and was very convinced right now that he didn't.

The thought made the butterflies he felt in his stomach be speared and the pretty insects' blood colorfully splatter all over his insides. His friends noticed the quick change from anger to realization to dejection on their hot-tempered duelist in a matter of seconds. Yugi asked if he was okay which had the blond become bewildered for a split second, and then shake his head briskly as if trying to dry himself from the wet waters of sadness. "Y-yeah! Why wouldn't I be?! I already knew that that damn asshole would reject me, but he didn't have to be such a damn oaf about it!" He crossed his arms angrily.

Then the blond switched the conversation so that they wouldn't be concentrated on him or Kaiba. He didn't want to think about the handsome blue-eyed duelist at the moment. He will get over it later, and hoped that he won't feel more hurt the next time they talked. He wasn't sure of where these feelings were heading for him, but he knew that he shouldn't act assumingly on them.

While Joey was making this decision for himself, the brunet eyeing his back was mentally beating the crap out of himself for being a complete idiot. He didn't act differently, but that was the problem. Joey had to do it, so of course they couldn't do their usual banter. Though Seto pointed out to himself that acting differently wouldn't make him be himself, and he had to continue putting a brick wall between them despite their friendship. That was reasonable, but then another part of the young man wanted him to act differently the next time so their wouldn't be a bigger wedge between them.

Joey was right. They are graduating, and these days are flying past fast. Seto was planning to graduate after this semester, but then by doing so, he practically cut off a huge chunk of time that he could see the blond. And Mokuba or some convenient event would be their common yet limited source of communication.

Then another part of Kaiba questioned of why did he care. Yes, he admitted that he cared about the male, and reluctantly began having sexual desires that he had stubbornly subdued inside him, but he didn't care for the blond as much as he cared for Mokuba, and the sexual desires were most likely just hormones.

I mean, look at those legs. Kaiba had been dreaming of them being spread on top of his desk with cute pink frilly panties being seen from beneath his school skirt. Slighty dampening from the wet tip when he fondled the growing bulge under his skirt. The rule was that the blond wasn't allowed to close his thighs or else the CEO would squeeze him hard.

He can't help dreaming about those glaring determined eyes. Obviously before the table moment, the two had gotten into a bet, and since the blond lost, he cannot go back on his word to do as the man instructed, and was too proud to do so. The very idea of subduing the lame duelist due to his own bubbling heated pride was enticing.

The idea of sucking him with the panties in the way would make the male quiver and gasped. A keen moan escaping his lips and his stomach most likely becoming tight. Joey would grab for anything on his desk to squeeze as he tried not to close his thighs. Kaiba will do anything to make the blond shake, moan, cry out, yell obscenities of him being unfair, and maybe cry a little because the torturous pleasure was too much for the virgin teen to take. Oh what he will do to tease his perineum with his thumb as he pushed the panties aside to get his tongue licking his ass hole.

And then Kaiba considered his awards and punishment. If the blond were to keep his thighs open through the whol ordeal, then he'll do whatever the blond wanted. Let it be suck him off or fuck him until he cums into a quivering mess on his desk. But never bottom for him. He was to be the dominant one in the relationship. It's one of the rules the blond had to stick to if they were to enter a sexual relationship. (Not that Seto was preparing himself for it to happen. Or so he told himself.)

But if the blond were to lose, then he'll have to do whatever he said. And what Kaiba would've liked was the male getting on his knees on the floor and sucking him off. And the powerful CEO knew without a doubt that the honey-eyed beautiful male would glare up at him in defiance, and then think that he was winning when he improved his technique to becoming more fervent in sucking and licking him as he bobbed his head zealously.

Seto would growl at the lame duelist for turning him on and trying to make him cum so easily. But he wasn't going to have any of that. He would grab those blond locks and have his cum sucker take the thrust of his penis in and out of his mouth forcibly. Perhaps deep throat for a few seconds before carelessly throwing the blond back and ordering him to get on his hands and knees on the floor. His ass up in the air facing towards him.

The brunet then sadistically puts his foot on the male's butt cheek and then said something degrading but also reluctantly turning the mutt under him on more. Joey would snap back at him for being such a bad guy, but he would just huff smugly at him before claiming what was rightfully his to enjoy on the floor. And perhaps put the male on the desk at some point because Seto discovered that that may be a fetish of his. A good sex partner with beautiful legs and natural blond hair bent over or on a desk.

The lunch bell rung, and Seto realized that his daydreams had him sporting an embarrassing erection. He couldn't stay in the cafeteria since the staff will ask him to leave despite him being Seto Kaiba, and he didn't have an excuse for staying longer than he had. So he stiffly got up with his briefcase blocking his erection from view. He quickly thought of every turn off to get it wilted, from losing a duel to Yugi to Exodia and even his step-father in lingerie (that worked too well that Seto might have vomited a little in his mouth), as he tried not to walk awkwardly.

Joey noticed him walking weirdly, and thought that Seto must be suffering from constipation or something. He sighed as he wondered of what the CEO truly thought of him as.

._._._.

In his apartment, Joey was cooking in the kitchen in his male clothes while Ryou was wiping the windows. "Thanks for helping me, Ryou. I owe you one pal." How this happened was that the two blonds (Ryou being platinum blond) were chatting yesterday when Ryou called for advice on how to turn down a girl who had confessed to him. Joey was never confessed, too, but the shorter male thought that perhaps the cross dresser may have been wiser about females. The platinum blond considered asking Tea, but thought that asking Joey first would be far more interesting. Joey did not consider himself to be female, but after spending time with females more often than before, he was able to give an honest answer which Ryou had used and left with no teenage guys trying to beat the crap out of him.

The white haired male smiled pleasantly at him. "It was a pleasure to help you clean this place spotless for your grandmother's visit. She deserves to come to a clean place after travelling all the way here from the urban side. If you don't mind my asking, is she from your mother or father's side?"

"My mom's side." That was a bit weird since Joey had spent six years not seeing his mother, but his mom's mom continued to be there for him. "She's an important woman to me. She helped me out by sending money every now and then to me by mail when times were really tough, and she was who I always bought to parents' day back at elementary. And don't think for a second that she's some scrawny old lady! My grandma is the bomb! She was a nurse in the military, and can still totally kick your ass if you push her! She's no joke!"

Ryou let Joey passionately ramble on about his grandmother as he found himself to be finally done with the windows which was the last thing he had to do. He put the cleaning supplies away in the bathroom's sink cabinet, and then washes his hands. He went back to the kitchen where he took a whiff of the delicious smell he had been smelling since the blond began cooking. He looked to the table and gasped when he saw various French dishes made on the table.

Joey smirked at him from behind his kitchen counter as he wiped his hands with a cloth. "Go take a seat, Ryou, and pick out whatever you want to eat."

"B-but they look too good to eat!" The British fellow took a seat on the round table. His mouth watering by the enticing smells. "I-I knew that you wanted to be a restaurant owner, but I never thought you could make such exquisite dishes!"

"Heh, heh. It's the perks for working in several different restaurants. Different types of European, American, Mexican, and Asian kinds of meals that I've learned to make over the years since I was twelve and working as a busboy. A lot of those restaurants were kind enough to show me their style of cooking." Before the golden blond could take a seat, Ryou already filled his plate.

He gleamed when he took his first bite. The juices just filled his mouth and the texture dominated his tongue, and slid down his throat smoothly. "Mmm! So delicious! I feel very fortunate to eat your cooking, Joey."

"Awe, thanks. But you better not eat too much cuz I made your fave for desserts."

Ryou stopped chewing and widened his eyes in a cartoony fashion. He swallowed his food to whisper, "No..."

"Yup! Profiterole! That's why I went with the french cuisine. Its thanks for helpin' me clean up my place! I can't help bein' a slob in my own apartment. I only clean it when there's an inspection, but even then, it's not as spotless as now." Joey rubbed the back of his neck as he gave a guilty smile.

Ryou beamed. He unguiltily loved that Joey was a slob at the moment. "It was really no problem at all! You are getting busier and busier by the second that I'm not surprised that you have that horrible habit. And I truly am thankful for the meal." He took another bite and couldn't help smiling giddily like a spoiled child. "Oh, and I will definitely be at your play, Joey. I'm glad that you reserved tickets for us because the last I check on the tickets to buy for a friend, they were already sold out."

Joey chuckled and grinned. "They ran out in just a few days." he couldn't help grinning really wide at his accomplishment! "And just you wait! When I get into bigger plays, movies, and tv series, money will be pouring into my hands!"

The chocolate-eyed male gave a small smile to that. "So I guess that your dream as a restaurant owner is subsided for the mean time."

The honey-eyed duelist gave a weak short laugh at that. "Yeah, I gotta pay my bills. And Duke's thinking about opening a dice duel tournament to gain more popularity for his game with me competing in it, and I also got casting directors wanting me. Kiyoko is handling of which one I'll get into."

"Sounds extremely busy. What about school, Joey?" The white haired male had noticed the amount of absences that the blond had to take from school this past month alone.

"The teachers just pile up my work and have it sent over to me. Kiyoko has me spending at least an hour or two a day at a tutoring center to finish my work." The blond replied as his mind ran through the past three weeks. Thanksgiving was coming soon, and he had only that day of the entire week for a break from work, school and everything else except for his dad. Mokuba had texted him that he and Seto don't celebrate that holiday. They only celebrate Christmas and Halloween.

Ryou sighed through his nose silently in relief. "That's good to hear. I was worried that you were ignoring school. But I should've known better that you are not the type to simply stop half way through anything."

"What are you sayin'?! There's no way I would ignore school! Not when I gotten this far! I may be incredibly artistic, handsome, strong, charismatic and did I already mention good-looking?" Ryou noted that handsome and good-looking fell into the same category, yet kept that to himself. "But I know that I'm a slow guy with school since I'm not the type of student to figure out theories and listen to boring lectures while sitting down all day. I'm a hands on kind of guy! A guy that takes action! Always on a mission! That's who I am!" Joey looked up at the ceiling dramatically. The male across from him could have sworn that he saw a flash of light on the sparkling golden hero.

The ex-millenium ring holder switched the conversation to an interesting topic that he's been meaning to talk about. "I heard from Yugi that you had tickets for Kaiba and his little brother. Did they accept them?"

Joey grimaced and stuffed his face with food to ease his building bitter mood. It helped a little. "Sorry Ryou, but I really don't want ta talk about that bastard."

Ryou rose an eyebrow to this, but he politely ignored his curiosity to remain respectful to his friend. "O-"

"I mean, what's wrong with me?" The duelist asked sadly, and then quickly corrected himself, "I mean...what does Seto see of what's wrong with me?" The blond felt something rise in his chest, and found words falling from his mouth without his consent. "He keeps dissing me, and god, does it irritate me! But that's Seto fuckin' Kaiba for you, and I would tolerate it already, but I can't help noticing that he only does it to me. I mean he throws a few insults at you guys from time to time, but with me, it's like I'm a fuckin' dart board or wheel of insults for that guy! And I even try to be fuckin' friendly to him, but he keeps actin' like a fuckin' asshole! I tell it straight to his face to stop it, but it seems to just goad him to insult me more!" He began having his utensil poke at his food dismissively. "I mean, yeah, I get it. It's our thing now, but y'know, I'd like a little change. Friends or not, after everything, he can at least give me the tiniest respect by dropping the animal comments. I'm not a fuckin' dog or monkey or whatever, stupid Kaiba!"

Then there was a sharp ringing sound that stopped the golden blond from continuing. Ryou was somewhat glad as he tried to process Joey's words. He hadn't exactly been there when Seto and Joey would interact in the past due to his killed evil half, so he had truly missed out on a lot, so he saw this as an outsider. And as an outsider, he felt like there was a lot of conflicting emotions within Joey where it would be a healthier choice for the honey-eyed beauty to cut off interactions with Seto which can be easy to pull off, but Ryou knew Joey to some extent unlike an outsider, so he could tell that his acting friend wasn't angry. The duelist's tone sounded more like he felt unsatisfied which meant that his friend wanted more out of Seto with this tolerable bad side as well. The platinum blond certainly read enough love and tragic novels to make this seemingly obvious conclusion.

Yet, even with the conclusion that perhaps Joey may have a growing fascination with Kaiba, Ryou wasn't the correct person that the golden blond should be speaking with. He could act as one, but right now was neither the correct time nor place for that sort of talk. So Ryou simply gave Joey a lovely smile when the male returned back with freshly made profiterole covered and filled with cream and chocolate.

Ryou didn't hesitate to take one of the delicious pastries after giving his thanks. He bit into the delicious treat and shivered with a greedy moan when Joey had made it taste like heaven sprinkled its holy light on it. The golden blond took one of the desserts for himself, and asked himself, "Now what was I saying?"

The chocolate-eyed sweetie automatically placed his hand on Joey's own which shocked and confused the duelist. Ryou asked with all seriousness, "Joey, will you marry me?"

Joey's blinked a few times at the question, and then burst out laughing completely forgetting about his rant about Kaiba.

._._._.

Kaiba was extremely annoyed. People may not know of when his birthday was, but could piece together by what school grade he was attending to know that he was becoming elligible for marriage. And so he had been given nonstop proposals from other companies to marry their daughters. It was one topic that he could not escape during a meeting with an old geezer or hag whom happened to bring his or her daughter with them, and they all try to convince the stiff young man to notice the advantages of having a wife.

Seto was not interested in marriage in the least. He was a hard working man, and already have whores at his feet to relieve him of his pent up stress and hormones.

Marriage would damage him more so than help him. One, there would most likely be an affair, and that would cause his reputation to be ruined. Two, the female would have to live in his house, and he was not allowing some stranger near Mokuba. Three, there will be a divorce, and it will not be pretty.

And all of the lined up females agreeing to wanting to be married to him were all incompetent spoiled brats. He would not bother with any of them.

Though Mokuba had a different opinion. "You should at least giving dating a try." The brothers were in Seto's office. The younger brother was looking at the photos and files of each woman on the floor in front of the couch. His older brother just grunted in response as he was reading through papers. "You never had a girlfriend. Don't you wanna have kids, Seto?"

"No, Mokuba. I am too busy to care for a child that I had with some woman. He or she would most likely just grow up to resent me and do foolish things to try to gain my undivided attention. And I will not rely on my own child to run my company for two very potent reasons. For one, he or she may have not gained my genetic trait of intelligence, and two, children would only take such a position for greedy or dull reasons. I worked hard to change this company to the number one gaming company for us."

Mokuba thought that that would be true. He didn't resent Seto, who raised him most of his life, but they were brothers. If they were father and son, it would be a drastic change with their relationship. So he was glad that they weren't.

"Good point. But I still think that you should try dating at least. You might never know if you might actually like one of them, and they aren't as bad as you assume them to be. Let's try narrowing the list. What do you find attractive in a girl if you saw them? Like what hair color do-"

"Blond. Natural." Seto replied. He wasn't interested in dating, but he felt like answering for small entertainment and cut his brother's whining.

Mokuba pulled out his own laptop where he entered the kaiba corporation data base to see the list of over a hundred participants. He had his device scan each file to cut out any one that was not naturally born blond. After that, he asked, "Okay, what else?"

Seto had a vision before his eyes. "Legs. Slim."

Mokuba rose an eyebrow at this. He had no idea that his brother was a legs man. Men do have preference from boobs, ass, legs and weirdly feet. So he made his computer make scan the files to make sure that there were no scars, surgery, past injuries or medical illness to the legs or feet. That cut out a few more. There was still over half a hundred participants.

The pre-teen had the computer cut out females whom were over six feet tall, were divorced, had children, passionately religious, disliked games, liked oden, had any genetic diseases, and had criminal record (buried or not). The kid stopped to see that there were still about fifty participants.

He asked his older brother, "I was able to lower it down to about fifty of them, and a lot of these files say that they like duel monsters which could be a lie."

"Of course they would put lies. They were forged by their own useless employees or themselves. That's why I do not bother to look through them. I bet even their own pictures were photoshopped."

"True, but I like to still try to at least get a top five from this list. What else would you like from a girl other than being natural blond, and have great legs."

Seto thought about it for a moment. He wanted to say hazel eyes, light tan skin, duels with a passion, speaks with an accent that gets deeper when stirred up, and a temper that he could laugh at from time to time as he would throw insults. And despite those insults, the person still stood strong and fights back instead of whimpering away. He knew he was thinking of Joey, but he had to think against that.

"Pale skin. Blue eyes. Speaks eloquently. Quiet...Modest." Seto knew he was lying. He was practically talking about himself, except for the modest part.

Mokuba put them in and it was cut down to about twenty participants. "Alright. Top twenty. How about likes? Or hobbies? Personality?"

Seto wanted someone who took risks, and could be close to Mokuba and protect him when he wasn't around, or couldn't do it himself if he were to be bound back from doing so. He wanted someone who was tolerably energetic, stubborn, and helplessly funny. The brunet couldn't help smiling when he thinks about his mutt's angry expression and stances. A deep sense of satisfaction settled in his chest that he sighed out through his nose with blissfully closed eyes.

"Seto?"

The Kaiba corp owner immediately snapped out of his stupor to reply to the question. "Single child. Is the valedictorian of her class."

"Wow, that second one cut this down to already three participants!" Mokuba looked at the three's pictures and thought that they all looked beautiful in their pictures. One was a fancy strawberry blond with round sky blue eyes and cutely plump face as if she could pass as a candy princess, and her flirty skater skirt showed her nice slim legs. The second one showed a girl with shaggy and dirty blond hair, denim blue eyes and a very confident, smug smile on her pretty pink lips. The woman's leggings gave a nice shape to her legs. Then the third one had platinum blond hair tied in a french braid. Her electric blue eyes lovingly looked at the camera with a small sweet smile. Her legs were presentable with the pencil skirt she was sporting.

Seto was sorely disappointed at how his second description had cut down the participants so fast that he should have practically said that first to cut down the time he had wasted with answering. He straightened his papers into a stack, and called his secretary to have them sent to the company in need of them.

"Hey, Seto," Mokuba called to him after clearing up his mess since it was time for him to return back to his work. "Are you going to Joey's play? It's on tomorrow. it's really gonna be packed and Joey got us front row seats so it's not gonna be a bother."

"I have an important business meeting tomorrow, Mokuba."

"But Se-"

"No, Mokuba." Kaiba snapped coldly, yet also softly unlike how he would snap at his employees. "I don't have time to sit through a two hour amateur play to see Wheeler make a complete fool of himself. I already have enough of that from school." The young man stood up to walk out of the office to go to a scheduled meeting that his secretary had told him about beforehand.

The younger Kaiba wanted to scold and convince his older brother, but he lost the chance when that door closed behind him. He sighed out unhappily, but Joey wouldn't mind since he had the rest of his friends to be there including his grandma which he heard was a great woman.

._._._.

At the play, laughter was roaring throughout the theater. Joey was made as the leading role as a high strung and clumsy woman which he played perfectly with his cast members. The timing of the jokes came perfectly like Tom and Jerry. If one did not laugh, then they were left amused by the course of events.

Though when moments became intense such as when Joey had to face with the confession of his husband leaving him for the man could not stand her no more, everyone in the room was silent as their hearts were filled with roaring anguish. The unmoving form of Joey when he was left on stage alone in complete shock was breathtaking.

Then the lights dimmed, before showing the next scene where the divorce happen, and there were a few chuckles, but the comedy ends on a somewhat light hearted but also gratifying note.

When the play ends, Joey's friends and grandma all went to the car to go to a restaurant that they planned to meet at and talk together. The actor had to stay back to talk to some people, so they were allowed to start without him.

Joey's grandmother chuckled as she shook her head at the restaurant table. "Dear lord, he's amazing." She commented when a waiter gave her a glass cup of her favorite drink. The woman looked like she was aging gracefully. She had wrinkles, yet her soft face, gentle smile, and twinkling brown eyes matched well with the flaw. It gave her an air of wisdom and retaining youth. "He still remembers my favorites."

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Kawai." Tristan said. He had met her at least once during middle school with Joey.

She smiled brightly at him. "And it's so good to see you and the rest of you young handsome lads and lady. I'm so happy that I can finally meet the people who helped brighten up Joey's future. I thought his life was too cruel without a single spark of light for poor Joseph. Not since after the divorce, and he rejected my offer."

Yugi furrowed his brows like the others, and asked, "Offer?"

The woman sighed out. "I guess Joseph wouldn't mind me sharing a part of his past." She sat up straighter on her seat. She places her intertwined fingers below her bossom. "Well, y'see, here kids, I could've taken that boy into my custody in the urbans. I got angry with my daughter for giving him away to that no-good father of his just because of money problems. I was all ready to take him under my roof, but when I told Joseph, that boy looked at me and told me that he didn't want to go."

Duke rose a quizzical eyebrow at that. "Why would Joey want to live with his alcoholic dad?"

The woman slowly shook her head as she prepared the napkin on her lap. "Because he was scared of what would happen to his dad if he left. At first, I thought it was because he didn't want to leave the city, so I tried to persuade him that the urbans was a great place. But he looked into my eyes, and said like a man in that small child's body that he couldn't abandon his own father." She paused for a moment as she recollected her emotions of that moment. Her head lying lazily against her hand. "He was scared that his own dad might die, and he could never forgive himself if he left. I tried to convince him that it wasn't going to be his fault if he left, but he told me that it wouldn't stop him from feeling guilty. And he ended up convincing me to not take him when he told me that his dad was a good man. Good but weak. He needs help, and he was gonna continue trying to help his daddy live until that help arrived. And I couldn't say no to him since he already had his mind set." She lifted her head and grasped her hands together. Her eyes having been distant since the beginning of the story. "So I left and we've been talking every now and then on the phone and I'd visit. And now that I'm here with you all, I realized now, that I made the right choice."

Yugi and the others smiled. Joey had come a long way to get where he was, so they were all going to celebrate. Mokuba also wanted to celebrate, yet he was left in confusion unlike the others. He could never fathom helping his step-father become a better person despite all the abuse. He didn't remember his own real dad at all. Seto would rather bury their parents both physically and spiritually. The black haired male felt a little envious with Joey to be able to have his parents and help them instead of throwing them away.

After the meal, everyone said their good nights before leaving. Joey's grandmother wanted to visit Serenity so had to leave for her train ride. She was able to go alone since a friend of hers was going to pick her up there. Joey gave her kisses on the cheeks before she entered the taxi.

That left Mokuba and Joey alone. The pre-teen found this to be a good chance for the two to talk now. "Hey Joey, before you go, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" Joey's eyelids felt heavy, but he could spare time to talk with the kid. The autumn night air was pretty cold, but endurable. "Sure Mokuba. What'dya wanna talk about?"

The younger male looked down at his shuffled feet. "It's just...I heard from your grandma about how you chose to stay with your dad instead of going with her. I know that you care about him, but is it really worth going through all that abuse?"

Joey was not surprised by the question, and he didn't mind sharing, now that everything is better now. He explained without a hint of lying, "It's as simple as that, Mokuba. It's kinda similar to you if Kaiba was abusive to you. You know you deserve better, but you also know that you can't abandon him. So yeah, my dad wasn't the best, and I may have been over my head with stayin' with him, but I knew he needed me. He needed a lot of help, so I didn't leave him."

"But you left after he hit you for cross dressing." He had been aware of that reason when Joey had a new apartment.

"Yeah," Joey scratched his cheek. "To be honest, I actually still came by to the place to make him food to make sure that he didn't just drink."

Mokuba was stunned. "Even after he hurt you?!"

"I'm a strong guy, Mokuba." Joey looked down at him with unwavering eyes. "So it was nothing. If it had been Serenity, then it would be a whole different story."

Mokuba understood, and he shouldn't bother worrying since the problems been solved. Yet, it didn't feel right, since Joey's dad hadn't been punished for doing any of those things. "It...just doesn't feel fair. Strong or not, no kid should go through what you did. Seto had to face the abuse of our step-dad, but my brother did that by choice."

Joey sighed through his nose. He looked up at the empty night sky. "Are there people you can't forgive, Mokuba?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Are there people out there that you can't forgive?" The duelist questioned as he let his gaze drop to the ground.

Mokuba didn't know of where this was going, so answered unsurly, "Y-yeah. The big five because they tried to get rid of Seto and control our company three times! And don't make me mention of how many times I've been kidnapped because of them!"

Joey laughed at that. Damn, did this kid get himself kidnapped. "True, and I bet you'd never forgive them because they're a bunch of egotistical sleaze bags. And that's the problem: Pride. No body but me remembers who my dad was before he drank." He smiled sadly. "I can't remember everything we did together, but I remember being so happy." he lightly chuckled. "When I was seven, I told my dad that I was scared of the monsters under my bed. He did that whole check under the bed thing, but he actually convinced me that there was monsters under the bed, and jumped into my bed. My mom got into the room and screamed her head off when she looked under the bed!"

"What was under the bed?"

"My dad put a toy mouse under there. My mom cried and he slept on the couch that night." The two of them snorted. That was funny. "I couldn't stop laughing, and I was not scared anymore."

Mokuba smiled. "Why did your dad start drinking anyway?...If you don't mind me asking."

Joey shrugged one shoulder. "It actually started with gambling. When a new casino popped up near his work, his friends bought him there, and he just got hooked. And when he started going there every day, he started losing money. My mom got mad, and we started to struggle even more when Serenity needed to go to the hospital more often. My dad took up drinking because of all the stress."

"Why didn't he just stopped gambling?"

"He couldn't stop. Y'see Mokuba, gambling is similar to drugs. They both stimulate the brain, and that brain will want more and more of that and it cripples your will power. If only a casino wasn't built nearby, then maybe my dad wouldn't have been addicted in the first place."

Mokuba growled. "I outta sue that place! Tell me the name, and I'm gonna tear it down to pieces!"

Joey smiled at the angry teen. He ruffled his hair. "Just let it go, squirt. Even if you tore it down, there's still so many other casinos out there, and people getting addicted. The only thing you can really blame is fate or coincidence cuz you never know yourself if you're gonna be an addict or not. That's why I steer clear of all alcohol and all the other bad things."

The black-haired teen was, once again, left unsatisfied by this. He crossed his arms and glared down at the ground. He felt Joey ruffle his hair again. That sort of thing usually annoyed him, but he understood that it was just Joey's way of showing his affection. "C'mon Mokuba. Y'gotta get home for yer curfew before Kaiba thinks I'm being irresponsible and we can't play anymore."

"It's okay. My brother won't do anything to you just because I'm out later than usual. Wanna try sleeping over for once. I have this pretty neat game for two players."

"Boy would I?!"

"But you must be tired from the play."

"Nah! I am as awake as a bat! And I always have energy for a game! And I don't have any work tomorrow since its Thanksgiving! Let's go!"

Mokuba chuckled, and then called for his limo to pick them up. They went over to his mansion. Joey couldn't help remembering of how the charity party went. He forced them back when he was thinking about Alexir De Gon. He did watch his movies, but with a slice of disappointment in himself. Instead of falling for him like every normal person would for their idol, he ended up developing feelings for an arrogant rich boy.

Think of rich boy, "Where's your brother, Mokuba?"

"At work. He doesn't get off until like eleven or one in the morning depending on how much he has to take care of."

"And what time does he go to work?"

"Seven."

"What?! If he gets back by one, then he only has six hours to sleep! And its already passed eleven!"

"I know, but nothing I do can stop him from coming home to sleep early or stay in bed longer. He just gets up, drinks his coffee, and goes."

"Maybe if he got himself a girlfriend, she'd keep him in bed."

"Ew!" Mokuba balked at the idea.

Joey held back his laughter. "I didn't mean it like that, ya pervert!"

"Why else would a girl be in his bed?!" Mokuba inquired hysterically.

"I don't know. Maybe Kaiba likes having a cuddle buddy in secret."

Mokuba snorted. "I'd believe that when he starts putting bows in his hair."

Joey grinned evilly. "Maybe he likes putting bows in his hair secretly. What if he doesn't say I'm hot because he's secretly jealous of me. He wants to put on a dress and ribbows and everything, but he can't cuz he knows he can't pull it off like me! Joey Wheeler!" He laughed boisterously.

Mokuba rolled his eyes with a smile and a shake of his head. They entered his room where they began playing games for almost four hours. Joey knocked out during the game on Mokuba's bed next to the kid.

Kaiba finally came home exhausted, yet always had the spare energy to check on his little brother to make sure that he was in bed despite it being a holiday tomorrow. He entered the room to find the tv and game left on. He sighed as he noted to himself to scold Mokuba about this later. He turned off the game and the television before turning to his brother. He went bug-eyed when he saw from the soft light emitting from the hallway that Joey Wheeler was sleeping next to his brother on the bed with their controllers sprawled on it, too.

The blond had taken off his makeup, and wasn't wearing extensions. The duelist's hair had grown past his shoulders so it wasn't needed anymore. Yet, the male was still wearing his light blue evening dress that had a long slit that revealed one of his lovely legs. His silver sandals were left on the floor.

Seto couldn't help staring at the male's thin pink lips that was asking to be kissed so he could wake up from his spell like sleeping beauty. Kaiba knew he should be upset to find the mutt in his brother's bed despite how innocent it is. The dog didn't ask for his permission to visit, and noted to himself to scold Mokuba about this, too.

He continued to stare at the beauty's face until his heavy lids and foggy mind reminded him that he needed sleep. He exited the room, and then entered his room where he stripped himself off of all his clothes and then put on his pajamas before he lied on his bed. Eyes falling, and darkness overcoming him.

._._._.

There was silence and darkness, until Kaiba found himself awake. He let his eyes open and blink several times. He was confused because he found himself inside a mossy and filthy bricked room. He tried to get up, but then he found his wrist cuffed separately by chains connected to the wall behind him. He glared at this as if his eyes could shoot ice beams to free himself. He looked down at what he was wearing. He saw a tan tunic over his black shirt, and brown pants and black boots.

This sort of outfit looked vaguely familiar, yet he concentrated more on what had happened before, and who must be behind this. However, he didn't have to think any further when the person behind this entered the room.

"Hello heir Kaiba." Zigfried sauntered into the prison in a fashionable black coat with purple linen, and black horns covered in rose vines on his head.

Now Kaiba knew this was a dream because the CEO knew that the poor excuse of a game company owner was dressed as the Disney villain Maleficient. He crossed his arms as he had his eyes try really hard to shoot those ice beams. "Let me guess. You're here to tell me that you're gonna lock me up here until I am an old man, and I'll get to kiss the princess."

The pink haired male grinned. "Correct, heir Kaiba! Sharp as usual." he cheered mockingly. "So have a gut time in here while I and Leon have fun destroying your kingdom!"

Kaiba stood up abruptly and roared, "As if I will ever let you control anything of mine! Even if this is all just a dream!"

"And what about your dear princess?"

"She can sleep for all eternity for all I care!"

Zigfried leered at him with a devious smirk. "Oh my. Isn't that cruel, but expected of you, heir Kaiba. So I supposed that I shall have him all to myself instead."

"Him?" The last time he checked, princesses weren't males.

Zigfried used his staff to reveal a picture of Joey Wheeler in the Sleeping Beauty get up sleeping away. "He is male, but had been labeled as the princess who is now under my spell. He is quite the beauty isn't he. Golden hair like a greek God. Amber eyes holding a passionate unending fire. Superb legs despite the dark ages it has went through. And unlike a normal princess, his personality is absolutely engaging. I can't wait to wake him up, so I can duel him into submission and make him my pet."

Seto growled. No one was going to have his puppy but him! He ignored the part of him that wanted to remind him that he was restraining himself from admitting that he liked the puppy! This was his dream, so he didn't have to hold back! "If anyone is going to duel that dog into submission, it will be me! Let me go, or I will make you regret ever being born!"

Zigfried chuckled with a sneer. "No can do, heir Kaiba. That would ruin my plans, so please sit there and wilt away into nothing while I claim your kingdom and Wheeler." He laughed as he exited the prison.

The brunet growled, but he wasn't completely angry since this was his dream. He could just will the chains away, but then for some reason the chains weren't going away. He growled. Not understanding why he can't make them go away.

And then he saw three specks of light flying in. He groaned realizing that his mind wanted him to go through with the disney fairytale. And he was surprised when those specks of light turned into three of the annoying blond's friends: Yugi, Tea, and Tristan.

"Kaiba, we-"

Seto interrupted Yugi, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Just get me out of these, and take me to the second-rate duelist already."

Tristan growled at him, "Not with that attitude smart mouth!"

Tea yelled, "We don't have time! Zigfried is heading for Joey and whoever kisses him awake will be the one he falls in love with!"

Seto began to realize his dream was a nightmare! He was not having any of that! "GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!" His roar scared the other three to quickly help him get out of his chains.

The blue-eyed duelist didn't hesitate to sprint out of the room, and then find his horse who was Mokuba. "Hurry up, Seto! Joey needs you!"

"Take me to him!" He ordered, and jumped on his brother's back. The two raced out of Zigfried's rotten castle to his glorious kingdom. But just like the movie, the pathetic excuse of a duelist, who used cheap tricks in his grand prix, tried to stop him. But instead of thorny trees, he bought valkyries from the sky to the field, and the damn rose-holding hacker appeared behind them to say some worthless speech.

Seto had his duel disk attached to his arm with his cards. He released his blue eyes white dragons! Screw this fairytale for killing the dragon at the end! He had them obliterated along with Zigfried after combining them to create ultimate blue eyes white dragon!

When that was done, he got off Mokuba, and ran up a grand staircase until he entered the room that held the sleeping form of Joey on the bed. The beautiful male sleeping peacefully under a curse. Kaiba remembered the annoying girl talking about whoever kissed Joey awake would have the blond fall in love with him. He felt something weird in his chest as he closed in on the male.

Seto leaned down and was just a centimeter away from claiming those lips, but he stopped himself. Before he could stop it, he began to feel unsure if he should be the one kissing the male.

He felt...insecure to have him fall in love with him. He can create a grand game company, overrule anyone who stood in his way, and never let anyone take his power away from him no matter how hard they tried, because he was the best. He knew he was the best, and he deserved to be one since he was a genius. His only flaw was that he can't beat Yugi in duel monsters, and he can fight to the end until he can win.

Yet, this was a whole different challenge...Seto sat down next to the sleeping young man as he debated with himself of whether he should kiss the male. He thought about more cons than pros of doing so. One pro was that he would have the blond by his side always as his pet, and that would be great or even grand, but then the heavy weighing con was that he couldn't make Joey happy.

Hell, Mokuba wasn't always happy with him, yet the kid loved him because they were brothers. They couldn't break their bond, and Seto hoped they never would. He couldn't stand the idea of being truly alone.

The blue-eyed man looked over his shoulder to see Joey sleeping. He knew this was a dream. Kissing him wouldn't actually make the real Joey fall in love with him. He was not happy about that. He was not happy about being this insecure. He just needed to kiss him.

Outside of his dream, Joey had entered his room. He woke up because he needed the can badly, and then decided to check on whether Kaiba was back from work before going to sleep. The duelist approached the sleeping CEO to see that the man had a somewhat peaceful expression. It was more disinterested than innocent in Joey's opinion.

The blond smiled down at him. He grinned when he really wanted to have a permanent marker with him right now! Maybe he could find one in the room, but then he didn't want to make noise that'll wake up the arrogant duelist. Seto worked, and he had to go back to work unlike Joey.

Despite how much the amber-eyed male despised the asshole's ego, he respected and acknowledged that Seto was hard working. Just in a different way where the male actually had it a lot easier than him. He was the big boss who made the choices while Joey was the one doing the dirty work. And the bastard was a genius so he doubted that it was that difficult to do, but then there are some ignorant workers who'd run his patience out.

He blurted, "You are such a prick." He covered his mouth immediately, and stopped breathing until he was sure that the male wasn't stirred out of slumber.

What he got back was a mumble and then a, "...Mutt." Yet what Seto said in his dream was, "I thought you're asleep, mutt."

Joey was surprised by this and found this more amusing than insulting. He spoke lightly, "Kaiba? Are you dreaming?"

Kaiba grunted, and then replied, "Ye..."

The blond felt his heart beat slow strong beats of excitement! He did this to Tristan once when they went camping on a fieldtrip! They had to share a tent, and his best friend was mumbling in his sleep about red or something. What was most important was that Joey toyed with him by speaking in his ear, and making Tristan irritated in his dream because he dreamed that he was being chased by the police by Joey's manipulations! It was so funny seeing Tristan's facial expression change while his body lazily moved.

So Joey said, "What're you doing?"

"...Sleep...beauty..." Seto actually said, "I am in a dream based off of Disney's Sleeping beauty. I knew I should have never let Mokuba make me watch those damn movies."

"Sleeping beauty?"

"Ye..."/"Yes, idiot. I told you that."

"And who am I?"

Seto snorted in his dream. He replied, "Well, if you must know, you are portrayed as that poor excuse of a princess who fell in love with a complete stranger, pricked her finger, and slept for the rest of the movie." In the real world, he grunted, "Princess."

Joey blushed and grimaced at the same time. It was no secret of who would be the prince of his dream. Not with an ego his size. "Re-really? So... are you...going to kiss me?"

In the dream, Kaiba blushed. What did the puppy just ask him to do? Did he actually want him to kiss him? He said and mumbled, "Why?"

"Be-because I'm the princess. I can't wake up unless you kiss me."

"...can't."/"I can't." Seto covered his lips with his hand.

Joey furrowed his brows. "Why not?" A long moment of silence passed. "Kaiba?"

"...not...happy."/"Because I can not do you justice if I were to kiss you. I can't make you happy. Even if this is just a dream, I rather not do it. I don't even like you like that..." He knew he was lying, but he was becoming uncomfortable.

The blond wasn't sure of whether Kaiba was confessing to him now, or was uncomfortable with the idea of kissing him because he really didn't want to. Joey...didn't know which one he wanted. He liked Kaiba, but didn't know of what to do if the jerk actually liked him back as more than a friend. "Okay."

Kaiba showed an expression of confusion. Joey clarified, "You don't have to kiss me if you don't want to. I can wait for however long until someone else wants to kiss me."

"No." Both in the dream and real life, Seto said it.

Joey was surprised by this defiance to his answer. He stepped away and then walked out of the room. He went back to lying back down next to Mokuba. His heart was beating fast as if he had been scared out of his wits or he ran a mile. He didn't know of how to take Kaiba's defiant answer. But he wanted to forget that this happened, and thought of it all as a dream.

._._._.

The next morning, Kaiba woke up at six-thirty in the morning so he had thirty minutes to get ready. He groaned when he somewhat remembered the dream he had last night. After he had told Joey no, he faced the male fully and leaned down to grasp the teen's shoulders to try to wake him up with a kiss. But, he was thrown out of that dream to darkness for the rest of the night.

He decided to forget the dream since it didn't end well, and took a cold shower to wake himself up. He put on his suit, took his briefcase, and headed down to where he was expecting coffee. And coffee was there, along with a blond drinking it.

Joey smiled at him. "G'morning, ya workaholic. Your coffee is right there." He pointed at the coffee close to the edge of the kitchen counter. It was accompanied by a plate of sunshine toast. "I figured I should make Mokuba breakfast as a thanks for showing me that awesome game." Then there was the sound of the toaster having the bread jump slightly out of it.

Joey set his coffee mug on a coaster before taking those pieces of toast out and caress them with jam and peanutbutter. Kaiba softly glared at him. He was peeved that the blond was making himself at home in his own mansion. "Who said that you're allowed in my house, mutt. Strays like you belong on the street or the pound."

"Shut up, and eat your toast moneybags!" The blond ordered harshly as he was careful with the food that he was fixing up on a tray of other food. Seto saw that a bowl of cereal, a cup of milk to fill it, a cup of orange juice, and a plate of two waffles covered in melting butter, syrup and berries.

Seto was jealous that his little brother was being served by the actor who was now wearing an oversized jacket that had its hem reach his upper thighs, and stayed barefoot. The brunette ate his toast which was not bad at all. It went well with his coffee. And then Joey had set something in front of him. The blue-eyed male saw that it was a bento box.

Joey grinned at him. "It's the rest of your breakfast or lunch if you want it. I made it while I was making Mokuba's breakfast. Figured it's about time that you tried my cooking since we're friends now."

Kaiba rose an eyebrow at this, and checked inside the box to see a japanese styled meal. It looked well made. Seto felt a strange feeling in his chest that was different yet almost similar to how he felt when Mokuba was being affectionate. The cold male didn't know of how to respond to this. He would rather be in a fight with Joey than receive a meal due to their mutual friendship.

He couldn't help saying, "Do you really think that I'd eat something made from an amateur?"

Joey wanted to throw the plate he was holding to Kaiba's face for saying that! He wasn't an amateur! He had experience making these meals! "Fine! If you don't want it, then give it to me! I'll eat it!" He made a grab for the box, but just like with the pen, Seto kept a hold of it.

"But I supposed that it will have to do for now."

"What the fuck?! Make up your mind you psychotic richboy!" Joey didn't know what the hell was Kaiba's problem! Fuck him! He didn't have time for this! He was still sleepy as hell since he only slept for a few hours! So he turned away from the man who drank the coffee and ate the bread that the blond fuckin' made for him! He put the plate of toasts on the tray, and marched to Mokuba's room.

Seto smirked and walked out of the kitchen soon after the blond. He watched Joey make his way up carefully on the stairs where he was hoping to see the color of his panties but there was no luck. He denied himself to tilt his head, so he could, but he reminded himself that despite anything, he wasn't allowing his hormones to be controlled by the second-rate duelist!

And so the CEO went to work. There was nothing truly interesting to do before he was reminded by his secretary that it was time for lunch, and bought him a sandwich. Kaiba didn't mind the sandwich since it was something quick to eat, but then he remembered that Joey made a meal for him, and he wanted to try it. He took it out after his secretary left him in his office alone, and unsurprisingly enjoyed it..

He reluctantly admitted to himself that Joey did have skills to become a chef. Yet, not the type to own his own restaurant business since that required brains beyond the blond's availibility.

He then remembered that it was Thursday, and that it should be Thanksgiving. That meant that Joey was fixing up a traditional turkey meal for his father to eat. A small part of Seto wanted to stop him, and make the actor forget all about his useless father. But they would most likely argue about it, and Joey might end up hating him in the end. So Seto ignored the matter and let this damn friend of his roam free with his pointless decision to help his father.

After finishing the entire bento, Kaiba decided to check on the news on his computer and saw that the mutt was considered to be a remarkable actor with the skills to pull off a comedic role, and make it to the big screen. The CEO wondered on that for a short moment, and realized that he couldn't fathom Joey being that good to be considered remarkable. He saw the commercial that he was in, but it wasn't that impressive since the game was completely dull, and knew that the mutt didn't actually know how to play it.

He also saw that the news also bought up Joey's embarrassing yet hilarious moment of Duke dressing him up as a dog on live television just so he could duel Yugi. Seto had seen this and laughed. Yet, thinking back on it now, he should've ruined the dice CEO until his game was considered practically nonexistent after a year or two passed. Joey was his to ridicule now. Anyone else doing it will be sorely regretful of ever laying their hands on him.

He then looked for his play ticket which was good to give him a front row seat for the next date. Perhaps he should see how remarkable Joey Wheeler is.

._._._.

Mokuba sighed. Joey left after the two had breakfast and played a few more hours of games. The little teen didn't want Joey to go because they were having so much fun, but the blond had to go because he needed the time to prepare the food and turkey.

The indigo-eyed kid suggested that he could just buy the food, but Joey had his mind set on making the food himself. It was the first time in a long time that they shared a meal, and he wanted it to be prepared by his own hands.

Mokuba was envious of Joey's dad because Joey was really good and cooking. The duelist offered to come, but then the pre-teen had special plans with someone else. And yes, it's with his new girlfriend.

The two agreed to see each other at an arcade. The two were going to play some games together before Mokuba was going to surprise her with a romantic picnic and an hot airballoon ride where the two could overlook the city and watch the beautiful sunset together.

"Mokie?" Mokuba looked toward the affectionate feminine voice to see his current girlfriend, Noe Kaima.

She had long jungle green hair, and mint green fringe bangs. She had beautiful blue eyes that seemed to smother Mokuba with so much love and acknowledgement. It was far different than how other cute girls would look at him, and that was what attracted the Kaiba brother.

The two met last year when she came in as a new student.

Noe was sweet, and smarter than him with electronics, but she also had a sharp tongue and had difficulty with socializing with others. Mokuba believed it was because of her past. Noe had gone through an...accident that changed everything. Her mother abandoned her and didn't want to acknowledge her. Her father was two-faced and abusive to her. She had felt alone for so long before her father had finally died, and she was adopted by an uncle of hers.

Mokuba sympathized and also empathized with her which bought the two closer together.

"Oh Noe!" The male can't help but blush. This was his first girlfriend so he still felt nervous every time they were going to be on a date.

The girl gave him a warm smile. "Sorry I took so long. I wasn't sure of what to wear." The girl was wearing lilac blouse with a pink flower pattern skirt, and purple leggings along with shoes. She used a grey jacket to keep her warm. She also had pulled her hair into pig tails tied by cut pink flower ponytails

Damn, was she cute. "I-it's okay. I didn't wait that long. Y-you look good."

Noe smirked at him. "Really? How so?"

The younger Kaiba did not possess Seto's confidence. He looked down at the ground as he scratched the back of his head. "U-uh, your ponytails are cute." Mokuba mentally slapped himself. That was so lame!

His girlfriend held back her giggle, and teasingly scolded him, "Is that all you have to say?!"

"U-uh, I...uhm, you...uuuuuh..." Mokuba felt steam rise out of his head.

Noe laughed at him. "You flatter me so much, Mokie, that you're speechless!" She kissed his heated cheek before pulling him to one of the games.

._._._.

Joey had prepared a classic table of a big turkey with stuffing, gravy, mashpotatoes, squash soup, green bean casserole, glazed carrots, pumpkin pie, cast-iron corn bread, and cranberry sauce. All of this having took about four hours of the blond's time to prepare all of this.

"Damn it Joe, I'm trying to lose weight!" His father sat down at the table. The father and son was at his apartment. The couch had been moved to a corner so that a folding table could fit the space. Even if it was just the three of them. Mr. McConnen happened to be invited by his dad. Joey found it weird since therapists were supposed to keep their distances, but then perhaps this was just another part of the healing process.

The man chuckled, "You just have to minimize of how much you eat."

Joshua softly glared at him. "Do I look like some crazy diet woman with a fuckin' balance thing in my head?"

"If I said yes, will that motivate you?" The therapist just laughed when the man's glare became harsher.

Joey grinned because in such a long time, he was finally sharing a meal with his dad sober on Thanksgiving.

The duelist remembered the thanksgivings before the divorce. Perhaps he was glorifying the old times, but everything was bigger at the dining table when he was a child. Yellow light with small dots of gold would dance around his vision as he stared and drooled at the food. He couldn't hold his hand back unless someone smacked his hand with a wooden spoon. He also remembered sitting with family around. His grandparents, his parents, and Serenity bowing their smiling faces for grace while he drooled because his stomach screamed to be filled. His tongue wanting to jump at the food.

Right now, it wasn't as grand as before, but the great difference was that in the past, he took the loving atmosphere for granted, but now he was extremely grateful.

"It's time to say grace." Joey pointed out.

"I think I should be the one to say it." Joshua said. He refused to make eye contact with anyone. "It's just that I feel like it's a good time to tell you all how grateful I am of this, and I really am gonna work hard this time." He was trying to sound determined, but his tone was evident with doubt.

Joey forced a smile on his face. He silently hoped, in his doubtful heart, that his father will get through this without him and more impossibly, after he chooses to leave rehab.

._._._.

Joey did his best on his last performance on stage. He was sure that he had excelled in being in character after the last days he acted. The laughter sang in his ears, and their silence filled his dreading performance until the bitter yet light-hearted end. He was not aware at all that Seto Kaiba was watching him with a smile and a frown for certain parts of the play. The CEO had come right before the play began so the director didn't have the time to alert them of his presence.

After the play that earned the group a standing ovation, Joey was in his own dressing room that was filled with tons of flowers from his fans. There was a knock on his door. "Come in!" He cried out as he was putting on blush. He was wearing a short cream colored dress with an illusion neckline and covered in gold sequins while wrapped with a skinny bow at his hip.

Kaiba entered. His reflection seen on the mirror. "So the puppy do know some new tricks after all."

Joey stopped his brush on his cheek to process the insult. "Puppy?!" He angrily put his makeup away in his bag as he glared at the bastard in the mirror. He turned around to have his eyes show his full out rejection to such a name! He was speaking with his male voice. He would only use his female voice in public or around a group of friends if the ocassion fit for it.

Seto chuckled. "You said to stop with the dog names, so I decided to degrade it down from a dog to a puppy. I thought that you'd be happy with the change, Wheeler."

"Well, I'm not! So stop with anything animal related at all!"

"Okay, loser."

"Kaiba!" Joey growled. He closed his eyes and took a quick breath before slightly calming himself down to act appropriate because he was not ready to face charges for murder yet. "Why the fuck are you here?"

Seto smirked. He had gotten used to the blond calming himself down despite the disappoint it left the taller teen feeling. "I thought I'd give you my congratulations for being an _okay_ actor."

Joey's lips scrunched up as he tightened them together. Damn, did he hate this guy. "Says the guy who shows no emotions at all." He crossed his arms. "Is that it?"

That was it, but Seto didn't feel like he wanted to go yet. He could just go back home to continue work, but teasing the puppy sounded far more interesting. "Not quite. I saw on the news about how Duke humiliated you on live television. There's a video that millions are watching and laughing at you at your disposal. I never thought that I would laugh so hard in my life! Of course I laughed just as hard when I first watched you grovel on your knees before him."

"So what?!" Joey snapped with red ears. It was true. His co-workers had all teased him about this. "At least it was to Duke and not to you!"

Seto almost growled, but quickly masked that. "Oh, so as long as it's not me, you'd bend over for any one in a dog suit."

Joey felt his face reddened. "Can you drop it already?! I already get enough of this from everyone I'm close to and my blog! What I want to do right now is go to a nice private restaurant, and enjoy myself!"

"There's a restaurant that allows pets inside. Shouldn't you be with your master, mutt? I suppose I could go to allow you in." Seto was just teasing, but there was a tiny bit of hope that they could go together.

Joey felt his heart skip a beat. He was angry at the insults, but then he wouldn't mind going to dinner with him. But he couldn't act like he actually wanted him around. Not with this attitude! He'd be some kind of masochist if he did! "Please, I doubt a paranoid jerk like you can go there! The place has a strict rule of no eletronics inside the place! You will have to give them all to the receptionist who will put your cell in a separated box."

"Of course no sensible fool would give their phone to anyone. Who knows if they were to be hacked. However, I doubt some hacker at some dingy restaurant you're going to will be good enough to hack my own."

Joey rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "Good for you." He then past Seto after looking at the time. "I gotta go. You can follow if you want to."

"I supposed I could go since I still have many insults to throw at a mediocre like you."

Joey looked over his shoulder to glare with so much fire in his eyes that they would've became flame torches. He turned his full body and stepped up to the CEO. His fists wanted to hit that arrogant smirk so badly while his lips felt like they were being pulled toward them. Seto felt his lips do the same. It was such a strange tingle that they both never felt before.

Joey looked down. He was really getting good at controlling his anger without his friends around thanks to Kiyoko's strict lessons so there won't be any bad publicity. He let out a sigh, and then turned away. Seto frowned at this. He was hoping for more than that since they were in private now, but then he still had the rest of the night to push the blond's buttons.

He followed Joey out of the place, and Kaiba had him come into his limo instead of calling for a taxi. The blond gave the place and directions to Roland, and then the blue-eyed duelist was then met with a punch to the face. "Dat's fer callin' me mediocre ya asshole!" Roland was not effected. He was used to this.

Seto wiped bottom lip and smirked. Now that was the dog he knew. "Can't take a bit of criticism, Wheeler? Maybe you should get out of the acting business while you still can."

"Shut up! I don't need your criticism or anyone else's for that matter! As long as the product is sold, and I get paid, then it's good enough for me!"

"Didn't know that you were so greedy."

"It's for my dad's rehab, and to pay for my college! I'm still goin' even if I become a popular actor that will be a very high demand for! Just you wait Seto Kaiba! I'm gonna be the number one idol in Japan!"

"Heh. I have a hard time imagining a slacker like you being number one at anything except being a loser." he laughed at the blond's face. Joey grabbed the asshole by the front of his shirt, and had their faces only centimeters away from each other. Pools of honey meeting an icy glacier as they stared closely at one another. "What?" Seto sneered. "Are you going to punch me again?"

"I'm thinkin' about it." The blond hissed.

"Don't hurt yourself."

Joey growled as he inched their faces closer together. So close that they began to feel the tingle in their lips again. The blond tried to distract himself by saying, "I'm really startin' to rethink this friendship between us."

"As far as I am concern, it's nonexistent at the moment."

"Why you..." He was supposed to sound angry, but damn, he was being sucked in by those gorgeous blue eyes of his. None of them dared to move, yet wished that the other would. There's a world for that: Mamihlaptinatapai. They sure have a lot of that. They weren't even sure that the other wanted it so there was that great sense of hesitance between them.

It was finally interrupted when Roland audibly cleared his throat. "We're here." he said stoically. He decided to just let whatever happened between those two be locked away in his chest filled with a lot of other confidential stuff.

The two teens in the backseat glared at each other before they exit after Roland had opened the car door. The two entered the restaurant and Seto saw that it really was quite the private restaurant. The only light in the restaurant came from the candles on the table or the spot light on the white background behind a dance floor where people were slow dancing in the appearance of shadows.

The receptionist glances up and smiles knowingly at Joey, but then the person's eyes widened when she spots who was behind him. She shakes her head to stay focused, and then politely greeted, "Welcome to Nightful Moon." She takes out a mosaic-looking box which holds different colored and spacious sections to put their devices in. "Phones and other technological devices, please. Nightful Moon is a place of serene atmosphere so please refrain from creating a scene. Wedding proposals is an exception, yet instead of clapping, please snap your fingers as you would do for poets."

Kaiba began to like this restaurant. Though he did not like the idea of giving his phone away, at least this was a place that prided for good behavior, so he was bound not to hear some racuous laughter, petty arguments, or loud chatter in there. And if there was, then the situation is expected to be handled immediately to keep the restaurant's reputation.

So he gave three of his phones away in a blue section of the box. If there were to be any serious problems with Kaiba corp, then Roland had been instructed to come in and warn him. Joey merely gave his purse away. The girl put a red tag over it, and had the actor sign it before leaving for a short moment to place it in a locked room so they could not be stolen.

Then she had them follow her to a table that was closet to the right of the dance stage, though they were separated by a railing so that the dancers do not accidentally bump into the diners.

Seto looked at the round table as he sat on his seat opposite of Joey's own. The table was covered by a clean white cloth, and in the middle held an odorless round candle that was bright enough to show their table so they weren't eating blind.

Yet there was a rectangular wooden box at the side that was set next to some sort of candle holder. The girl explained, "If you have any concerns or needs," She opened the box to reveal several small white sticks. She took one, closed the box and bend it to make it glow a yellow color that wasn't harsh for the eyes. "Please use these, and place them in this, and a waiter or waitress will immediately come to your need." She places the glowing stick into its holder. "Someone will be with you shortly. And thank you for choosing to dine in Nightful Moon."

Joey gave a small thank you before she leaves. A waiter is immediately at their table, and gives them their menus, and gave several suggestions of what to order. He then ask for their drinks. Kaiba ordered for their best red wine while Wheeler, understandably, ordered water with ice. Then he asked if there are any other questions. Neither of them had one, so the waiter excused himself after taking the glow stick.

The actor smiles at Kaiba who was staring at him intently the whole time the waiter had been present. He mirthly asked, "What?"

Seto sharply admitted, "I never imagined that you would know of such a place. How did you come to know of its existence? Not even I heard of this place, and you would think I would."

The blond shrugged, and then answered, "That's cuz this place is advertised at libraries, colleges, and universities. You may not know it, but I actually go to a library to read and borrow books from time to time." The pale man was tremendously surprised by this that light tanned one could see it on his face. The blond stifled his laughter. "Don't look at me like that!" He whispered. "I may not look like it, but I've been sporting A's with English. English and P.E. are the only subjects that makes sense to me. Oh, and history, too. I can remember the old farts biographies, but as far as time line goes, not so much."

"That explains how we end up in the same class every year. Congrats, Wheeler. You aren't as hopeless as I thought you were." Seto gave him his best condescending smirk as if it was a prize to be had.

"Geeze, thanks." Joey poured all of his sarcasm into that statement. "Besides, aren't you going to look at your menu. I already know what I want, and believe me when I tell you that the food here is really good. I suggest number two if you're gonna drink their best wine."

Though the blue-eyed duelist looked at his menu, and didn't disagree with the suggestion. He wasn't one for small talk, but then there was something he wanted to discuss. He curiously asked, "Have you dined here alone often?"

Joey proudly smiled. "I actually used to work here as one of the cooks. This is my first time to dine here. It's kinda weird sittin' here, and not having a ladel in my hand."

"And you decide to do so with me. Don't I feel grateful." Seto drawled and then gave a smirk at the puppy.

Joey rolled his own eyes at his attitude. The waiter arrived with their drinks. The two gave their order, and then were left alone. It was silent at first as they both took in the place for the first time.

They could see other people chatter, but it was muffled pleasantly to their ears. The slow music was popular old songs that would fit for a perfect first slow dance. The dancers behind the railings happened to have all male to female, female to female, and male to male dancers. They were all smiling in their own way at each other from what they could see from the spot light.

The blond looked wistfully at the slow dancing. He suppressed the romantic that he was, and his eyes laid upon a forlorn man sitting at a table alone. Joey wanted to cheer him up, but then he didn't understand the situation, so he kept to himself at the moment.

He diverted his gaze to Seto who was staring intently at him again. Despite being expressionless, Joey knew that if someone stared at him, they were either in a daze or wanted to talk with him about something. "Somethin' on your mind, Kaiba?"

"...Nothing of your concern, Wheeler." The brunet replied coldly.

Joey knew that was a fat out lie, so pushed him to confess, "With the way you've been staring at me, I'm calling bullshit. If dere's some'tin ye wanna talk ta me about, den come out wit' it."

Seto considered the situation. He was at a restaurant where the puppy couldn't yell at him, and storm out without causing a scene. Wheeler may not care about doing so, but Kaiba assumed that the teen would be a man who'd respect his former work place. It was a risk, but if they end up losing their friendship, then it shouldn't be that big of a loss for the cruel CEO.

"If you must know, Wheeler, then it's the fact that I cannot conceive how you waste thousands of your hard earned money to your own father." The brunet wanted to say more, but he didn't want to step on a landmine.

Joey was a bit annoyed, but he wasn't upset. He had the same talk with Mokuba, so he supposed he should have the same one with Kaiba. So he gave the whole forgiving someone speech. Kaiba was a lot more harder to convince than his open-minded brother was, but the blond kept strong with his reasons against the cynical eighteen-year old.

They paused for a moment when their food arrived. The two looked at their food for a moment, and then Seto continued the conversation as they ate. The two bickered about it without raising their voices.

"Face it, Wheeler. You're wasting your time. The adult mind isn't so easily swayed to change. The success rate of rehabs are low-"

"But it's not a definite zero, asswipe." Joey pointed out as a matter of fact.

"You're fighting a losing battle, dumbass." Kaiba snapped bitterly.

"Not any different when I duel, and you know that I never give up. I'll face it until the end."

"But what about your father? Is he really going to hold up his end of the bargain?"

"I won't know unless I try. I'm not giving up on my family. I doubt you'd give up on Mokuba if he were to become an addict. And don't give me that whole he's not gonna become an addict. Accept that you'd help him anyway. And that's the Truth with a capital T." Joey's eyes burned passionately, but it wasn't as intense as Kaiba thought they should be. He knew the blond had doubts as they continued to argue. He wanted the idiot to face facts, but Joey wasn't having any of it. Luckily, the blond still hadn't stormed out in the midst of their argument.

The two had finished their meals which had been delicious, but not truly enjoyed due to their nonstop arguing. Seto did take in what Joey said, but Mokuba wasn't anything like the dog's father, and the idiot was just being ridiculous.

But then he took a moment to look at the shorter teen to see that he was becoming pained by their conversation. As much as Kaiba wanted to end this with him being right, he didn't want to crush Joey like this. A duel would be more fitting. So he was going to postpone this by distressingly saying, "You are ridiculous, but I can see now that my words won't reach to your stubborn head, so I'll keep my opinions to myself while you waste your money to a lost cause."

Joey inwardly growled, but then he was glad that they stopped. He took out a glow stick. "I'm gonna order dessert. Do you want some?"

"No. I have a diet to follow." The CEO quipped.

That caught Joey's attention, and had him completely forget his foul mood. "Diet?"

"Yes. Unlike what you think, I do not just sit down on my chair in my office all day. I do have a physical regime to follow in order to keep myself in shape and see to it that I live beyond seventy before I even fathom the thought of handing my company to someone else."

"Wow..." Joey could not imagine Seto exercising. Though he tried to do so with the handsome male on a treadmill in his office with his shirt off. Wheeler couldn't help thinking about the male having some abs, but a taut stomach was more realistic. The blond felt a pink tint on his cheeks when he vividly imagined Seto running to the point that his body began to sweat. The male continued to run until it was time to stop. The rich bastard would get off the treadmill, wipe his glimmering sweaty body with a towel before drinking a bottle of water so seductively that he should be in a coke or pepsi commercial.

The blond began to drool a little at the imagination. Seto was a bit weird out at the slack drooling expression the actor was sporting. He thought the dummy had been lobotomized from afar by a laser beam. It was possible.

The waiter came to their table. "Yes? What may I do for you?"

Joey snapped out of his daydream and ordered, "Chocolate Cake with lots of frosting."

Seto grimaced at this. "Don't you have a diet to follow?"

The actor squinted at him. "No. I have a metabolism so I can eat whatever I want." He looked at the waiter. "That's it for me."

The waiter nodded and looked at Kaiba. "I need more wine." Another nod before leaving.

Joey was amazed, "How can you drink all that and not get drunk?"

"I have a high alcohol tolerance, and I do not drink constantly so my body doesn't begin to form an atrocious bump."

The honey-eyed duelist giggled, "That would look weird." Then Wheeler heard the music change to a nice song. He sighed as he wistfully looked at the slow dancers.

Kaiba glanced at them and then at his puppy. "You must really love to dance."

Joey shrugged. "I never got to slow dance before. I only ever learned to do the tango and the cha cha, but never to waltz or slow dance before."

The blue-eyed duelist snorted, "It's not that difficult. If you can learn how to tango, and do so without being needed to taught the choreography first with me, then you can slow dance."

"Will you dance with me like last time then?" Joey grinned at him. He knew there was a compliment in what the bastard said.

Seto hummed to himself. "Only in your dreams. I feel like it's about time that I take my leave."

"Fine. I'll ask that guy over there." Joey pointed his thumb at the forlorn stranger who he noticed before. The man was still alone at his table, and eating his meal sadly. The blond wanted to finally cheer him up.

Kaiba, on the other hand, felt like the blond was just throwing him away like chopped liver. "You're seriously going to ask some stranger to dance with you." That wasn't asked as a question, but the blond answered anyway with a sympathetic tone, "But he looks so lonely over there. I think he was stood up, so I'm gonna cheer him up."

"I doubt he would be happy to have a cross dressing male flirt with him." Kaiba pointed out.

The famous actor pulled an ignorantly happy face. "Maybe he doesn't know that. Won't know if I don't try." Joey got up but his wrist was held.

Seto Kaiba was not going to have some loser stranger slow dance with his puppy. He told himself that he didn't like Joey like that, so reasoned that he was just being the overprotective person he was. "He could have mental issues for all you know, and you'll have a stalker on your tail. You don't need that type of problem at the moment."

Joey rose a confused eyebrow at him. He pulled his wrist away. "What does it matter to you? And he looks harmless."

"Those are considered the most dangerous."

"Pffbt. I'm going over there." He took a step but his wrist was held again.

The CEO rose from his seat. "Fine. I'll slow dance with you."

Joey was getting more confused. "What is with you? It's not like I'm gonna bring the guy home for a one night stand."

"But he might assume that you would. Just shut up and slow dance with me."

"Not with that attitude." The blond got back his wrist again.

Kaiba sighed as he felt his patience running out. He then grabbed the mutt's hand instead. He can't force the blond, so he reluctantly took the more softer approach. "I'm just looking out for you...as a friend."

Joey stared at him dubiously, and then snorted. "Oh my, thee Seto Kaiba, owner of the Kaiba corporation, number one game company in the world, and richest bastard I know alive, is concerned about me." He snorted again.

Seto reluctantly felt his face flush. He now realized that he was being ridiculous. He was about to let Joey be on his own, but the blond held his hand tighter. "Alright, big guy. I don't want you to take the lead, but I'm gonna be a good pretty lady for you as a...friend." he snorted again as he pulled Seto to the opening between two railings to enter the dance floor.

They stopped at a good spot that gave them a good space from the other dancers so they don't bump against them. Seto took Joey's waist and hand. The blond knew from watching movies that he had to take the shoulder. "So...do we just step around randomly?"

It was Seto's turn to snort. "Amateurs would do that. It's very simple in this stance. You just have follow where my feet go. If I step to the side, you do the same. And don't move against me if I begin to move us in circles."

"That sound really simple."

"You thought it was hard?" An amused mocking smile graced the second best duelist's features.

Joey huffed at him. "No...I just thought people just randomly stepped around."

"How in the world did you learn how to tango?" Seto couldn't believe he was holding the same person he dance with at the Halloween ball.

"They aren't the same!" The shorter teen hissed in a whisper. "Let's get on with it already."

"Say pretty please." Seto smirked down at him condescendingly.

"Say that I'm a hottie." Joey grinned up at him teasingly.

The blue-eyed duelist rolled his eyes, and moved one foot to the side, and Joey did the same. He bought the other foot next to his foot which the honey-eyed crossdresser did the same. The two continued the motion, and it got easier that they began to flow with each other on the dance floor.

Joey smiled up at him when he realized that he finally got it. Seto couldn't help a smile gracing his features. The two's eyes locked with each other as they slow danced to whatever music was playing. It was strange since the two were like fire and ice, but they swayed so gracefully as if they were floating. When Kaiba let Joey twirl in his hands, the blond conceded for fun, and then tried not to smile so big when the taller male caught him and the two continued.

Joey whispered to him as if he wasn't trying to get caught by disapproving people, "It's so weird."

"Tell me about it. I'm dancing with a second-rate duelist." Seto chuckled at the angry look the blond pulled below him. It was cute.

Joey looked away from the male to notice the forlorn man was looking towards the direction he was. He gave a cute smile and a wave. The stranger looked past his shoulders and then pointed at himself. The honey-eyed cutie winked at him. It was a dim restaurant but he could tell that the man noticed and smiled at him.

The blond decided to have a silent conversation with the male by point at Seto and then rolling his eyes. The man silently laughed. The pointed male noticed. "What are you doing, puppy?"

Joey innocently replied, "Nothing."

Seto didn't believe him, so turned them at one-eighty and saw the forlorn male who Joey wanted to dance with. He glared icily at the man who just placidly smiled at him. Joey forced the them to turn so he could continue making faces at the man. The CEO did not like this, so removed himself from Joey and walked over to the stranger.

"Do you find it amusing to flirt with my date?" he questioned coldly that the stranger felt a shudder.

But then the formerly forlorn feeling male smiled, "She certainly looks like she wants to. It's not my fault that you aren't doing something right."

Seto wanted to ruin this person's life, but then he wasn't that irrational. "First of all, she is a he." He smirked. "Have a problem with that?"

The man chuckled, "I know that. I saw him on the news, and you're Seto Kaiba. I'm surprised that the two of you are together."

"We're not." he snapped. "We are here on mutual terms, and he wanted to slow dance with you, but I would not have it that he slow dance with some stranger dressed as poorly as you." He then took out his check book and blue-eyes white dragon pen. When he set the price, he handed over to him. "Now take this and leave without speaking to anyone about seeing us together, or I will personally see it that you live on the streets."

The man didn't hesitate to take the check. "It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Kaiba. I won't speak a word." He stood up, place his own money on the table for his meal, and then gave one wave to Joey before leaving.

Kaiba went back to the dance floor to see an estatic grinning puppy which had the CEO spat out, "Shut up. You're lucky I didn't do something to him."

Joey chuckled, "Can't stand not bein' the center of the attention, Kaiba?"

Seto silently clicked his tongue against his teeth. "I told you to shut up. Now do you want to continue dancing or would you rather stuff heavily frosted cake in your face that'll give you diabetes."

"Geeze, I don't know, Kaiba. One sounds better than the other coming from your mouth." Joey looked over his shoulder at the table that held his chocolate cake.

Seto inwardly growled, and then forcefully took the lame duelist's in his arms. The blond grinned triumphantly at the glaring brunet. Then the music changed to a song that Joey knew. "Ooh, this one of my favorite songs!" He hummed along with the song known as "What am I to you?" by Norah Jones.

The two slow danced to the music. When the song sung about looking into your eyes, the two of them once again locked eyes. There feet disappearing under them as they feel as though they are floating once again in each other's hold. Kaiba thought he was going out of his mind for feeling the way he did.

He wasn't falling in love or having any romantic interest for the blond, but he had to admit that he never had such a dance partner who he didn't consider to be a bore in his arms. He had went to many galas in his life time and danced with so many different people, but this was the first time he fully acknowledged his partner's presence without disdain from having his feet stepped on or hearing pointless babbling. Joey was annoying, idiotic, and talkative, but then all those bad traits didn't seem so bad at all at the moment.

When the music ended, Joey stepped away with a smile that never left his lips. "I guess that it's about time you get back to your work and making sure Mokuba's in bed."

A part of Seto didn't want to leave, but he had no important reason to stay anymore. "And what are you going to do?"

"Eat cake, and then go home with take out."

Seto snorted. "Isn't you stomach ever full?"

"Not as far as I'm aware. Bye, Kaiba."

"Bye, puppy. I'll pay for tonight."

"No, I-"

"Shhh." Kaiba placed his finger against the blond's lips. It took everything in the cross dresser to not bite his finger off. "Consider it as my appreciation for the lovely night."

Joey gave a very taut smile at the male. There was a hesitant moment for at least a hug or handshake at least, but neither moved, so Kaiba left with his phones after paying the check with interest for whatever the blond wanted to eat next.

The honey-eyed actor went to his table and looked at his cake with a little distaste since his rival paid for it. He ate his cake quickly anyway. He hadn't showed it, but his heart was beating so fast. Curse him for wanting to slow dance when it was obviously the most simplistic romantic type of dance out there!

He kept chanting to himself that he wasn't falling for Kaiba! He couldn't, shouldn't and wouldn't! And besides, the stubborn ass brunet was just trying to act like an appropriate friend! But despite saying the f word, Joey felt his heart twist uncomfortably. He felt...special. And he tried not to think this way, but he thought of himself as special in a really unique way for the brunet. He felt special to his friends, but this was different. It was more...person. It was a title just for him.

He tried to think of all the bad things Seto Kaiba is, but he let go of the past, and the taller male was better than before. He couldn't stop the soft smile from sneaking onto his face.

_I'm so glad I met you, Seto Kaiba. _

_._._._._

A/N: Yeah, so Joey is not as confident about his dad's recovery, but he can't give up on the man when he tried to commit suicide due to his alcoholic mind making him take that route. Trying not to make the mom a villain, but yeah, she's gonna be a big bitch in the chapter after the next.

And Kaiba is not in love with Joey. He's not falling yet. He's more like being pulled to the edge of a cliff grudgingly. And expect more Disney themed dreams!

And yes, there is stepshipping!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Expect a very short Frozen musical chapter!

._._._.

It was finally snowing in Domino city on the month of December where Christmas cheer was shared. A cheer that did not reach a certain workaholic CEO. So there were two goofballs who made a plot against him. They put speakers in his room, and bought themselves microphones and stuff for sound effects.

Seto didn't notice them as he was staying at home with the laptop on his lap in bed since his driveway was covered with way to much snow to shovel out of the way. There was a blizzard last night, but it was fairly sunny today.

And then out of nowhere, music began to play. Seto didn't move nor reacted, but within, he jumped in fear as goosebumps began to take place all over him. And then there was a knock, and a strangely clear voice that belonged to his younger brother. "Seto?" A pause, and the elder Kaiba immediately knew in horror of what was to come. Mokuba sang:

_Do you wanna build a snowman?_

_Come on, let's go and play!_

_I never see you anymore_

_come out the door_

_It's like you've gone away_

_We used to be best buddies _

_and now we're not_

Seto had walked towards the door during his brothers singing. The younger Kaiba had joined the choir at his school, and had showed that he was exceeding well. The elder Kaiba also felt a pinch in his chest that all of that was true. He didn't mean to neglect Mokuba. He tried his best. And as that painful swell in his heart was about to swell, it stopped when he heard an angry:

_I wish you would get off your latop!_

_Do you wanna build a snowman?_

_It doesn't have to be a snowman._

Seto tried to open the door, but found it locked. "Mokuba. Open the door."

_Sorry, no!_

The brunet rolled his eyes. He looked for the speakers that must be around, and found them at the side on his desk. it was strategically put for the sound vibrations to bounce throughout the room as if they were here.

There was a knock again.

_Do you wanna build a snowman?_

_Or ride our bikes around the halls?_

_I think some company is overdue_

_I've started talking to the dweeb patrols!_

Joey cried out, "Hey!" Seto stifled his laughter.

_It gets a little lonely._

_All these empty rooms_

_Just watching the hours tick by..._

Both Mokuba and Joey started clicking their tongues in a tick tock fashion. And then the sad part of the song waved in. And then there was a knock on the door. It was Joey's voice this time. "Seto?"

_Hey, I know you're in there_

_We have been asking where you've been_

_We say, "Come out", are you trying to_

Kaiba rolled his eyes, but he had to admit that Joey had gotten better with singing.

_We're right out here for you_

_Just let us in_

_We all have each other_

_It's me, you and Mokuba_

_What are we gonna do?_

Then the door opens to reveal two goofy grins. They both shout, "Do you wanna build a snowman?!" despite the sad note the music was ending with.

Seto tried to frown at them, but he smiled instead at how cute his brother was. But he was not happy that Joey was around to see him smile like that so he quickly glared at the blond. But then let it go to reply, "Fine."

Both boys gasped and then cried out, "FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER!"

Kaiba threw a shoe at the door. The two skittered away laughing.

And so the Kaiba brothers and Joey made snowmans at the backyard while Roland watched them from afar. They started making snowmans. Joey and Mokuba held back their snickers by how into it Seto was. and then Mokuba and Joey made snow angels before the blond initiated a snowball fight. But it was unfair as the Kaiba brothers gang up on him.

After that, the three went inside to have hot coacoa beside the fireplace. Joey looked at it with fascination since he rarely had the chance to see one used. Kaiba watched the male with his own case of fascination. He was going to kick him out of his mansion soon while Mokuba was sleeping peacefully against him from exhaustion, but then he can't help wanting to stare at the blond's cute fascinated expressions at the fireplace like some wild abandoned puppy that's been picked up from the streets. It's such an accurate description that Seto felt proud of thinking it as Joey sipped his drink.

Seto breathed out a sigh as if letting go as he prepared himself for another year of predictably being the best while also looking forward to what the dog had planned and how he was going to laugh at his downfalls.

._._._.

A/N: God, Kaiba is such a dick. He never wishes anyone good fortune except himself and Mokuba. But Joey doesn't need his good fortune! Bah!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Expect a Mokuba side love story.

._._._.

It had passed the new year. Joey celebrated it with his friends by going to the park and watching the fireworks display. Kaiba ignored the fireworks outside of his window while Mokuba was watching it with his girlfriend Noe Kaima on top of a rooftop.

The younger Kaiba wasn't comfortable introducing the two of them to each other, yet since they were just started. However, Seto did extensive research on this female to see that she had no real background due to being at the poorer parts of the world that didn't keep record of them.

It was suspicious and convenient for the female to come from a place that would less likely keep any record of her other than the proof of her birth and right to move to Domino to get an education. Yet, there was nothing evident enough to convince Mokuba to dump her before she could break his precious little brother's heart.

Not only that...but the way she looked. He didn't want to admit it, but the moment he looked at her picture on a computer screen, memories of the virtual world flashed before his eyes as he thought with horrified assumption that his little brother was dating their step-brother Noah! He was paralyzed at the thought of them falling in love after what that little punk made them go through!

Even when Seto Kaiba distinguished the two as different people, he couldn't accept Mokuba dating such a female! But then despite his urge to control the situation, he needed to trust his little brother. He didn't want to force his authority on him like Gozaburo had done to him years ago...But a little convincing wouldn't hurt.

"What do I see in her?" Mokuba had repeated Seto's question in a dumbed down version. He couldn't help blushing when he thought of his sweet yet strict girlfriend. "Wh-wh-why do you wa-want t-to know?"

The two Kaiba brothers were currently overlooking proposals for new rides to be constructed in their amusement park. Seto had smoothly introduced this conversation. "Yes. We once discussed of what type of female I am looking for, so I thought we could try switching that sort of topic on you, Mokuba...So," He leaned forward to place his elbows on his desks. Fingers intertwined and hiding part of his lower face. Cerulean blue eyes heavily concentrated on his brother.

The pre-teen immediately regretted having Seto partake in finding a girlfriend. They still had those three girls listed as potential girlfriend in Mokuba's laptop, but they were to wait to call them until Seto thought that he was ready to date. Which practically sounded like never.

"C'mon Seto! I-I can't tell you that!" Mokuba tried to weasel himself out of this but his older brother -strangely to him- wouldn't let him.

"And why not." Seto smirked teasingly. "Are you just dating her for...benefits?"

Mokuba's became a bright tomato. "NO! I-I-I mean she's re-really cu-cute! But I'm not dating her for that!" He threw his arms around recklessly! He tried not to think of how cute Noe was in a pink bikini when they decided to go to the Kaiba land pool for a date. She was still developing for a thirteen year old, and just exuded sexy cuteness that the black haired male's nose bled!

Seto found this part of Mokuba quite amusing. The strike of puppy love on his poor little brother's heart. "So what is?"

The indigo-eyed vice president grimaced comedically. He forced his heart to settle down as he looked down at the floor. He had his papers cover his blush. "I...She isn't like any of the other girls. I know how corny that sounds, but it's true. The first time she came to school, she kept mostly to herself like you would. She avoided having human interactions with anyone, and preferred to be on her laptop instead." That was exactly like the eighteen year old and he knew it. "I thought she was cute, and didn't really think of it since there were plenty of cute girls in school. But unlike the other girls, her eyes caught my attention when our eyes met for the first time. She...looked so alone, and I wondered why she didn't just make friends, so I decided to approach her one day to encourage her, but then I saw that she was playing a game that she created, and I tried it out, and had so much fun playing it that I gave her the proposal that she worked for Kaiba corp. She laughed at me haughtily, and told me that she was too good for our sloppy company."

Seto growled. Mokuba quickly remedy the situation! "B-but she can be nice! She just has the habit of speaking her own mind, and spends most of her time either on her laptop or having her head in the clouds. And despite being insulted, I still wanted to spend time with her to know if she had more games. So I took every opportunity to talk with her, and learned that the reason why she doesn't really talk is because she had lived in a far away place all alone. She had parents but they neglected her after an accident she went through. She wasn't sad at all about losing her parents because they were practically non-existent to her as well. And she was allowed to finally escape from that dim world, but like a baby, she didn't know how to react to this new world she's been introduced to. So I took it upon myself to show her it. And Noe started to open up more as time went by, and talk with other people and make friends. I was supposed to be happy for her, but then when she began hanging out with other people more than me, I felt jealous." Seto huffed at that. Mokuba ignored it. "I thought I was just being unreasonable, but when Noe told me that she was considering dating, and named some random guy, I flew into a jealous rage. Not in front of her, but I really wanted to punch the guy she wanted to date. And then I thought to myself, why don't I just date her, so I grew some balls, and asked her out! And she said yes obviously!" He grinned victoriously.

Seto had listened to each and every word that his brother said, and he could hear sympathy, empathy, love and hints of pure happiness coming out of his mouth. But the CEO had to rain on his parade, "As nice as that story sounds, and I do find it fitting that you take what you want as yours. However, Mokuba, you do realize that she looks like a certain person don't you." The brunet sat back on his reclining office chair.

"Huh?" The black haired male's ears perked up at the the sound of that. "Who?"

Seto took a unnoticeable big breath, and then replied with a glazed look, "I hate to break it to you, kid, but she looks like our step brother, Noah Kaiba."

Mokuba went slack-jawed as he tried to imagine it. His older brother help by having their pictures appear side by side on his computer screen, and then turning it for him to see. The pre-teen thought he had not seen Noah's face in almost four years! And he was stupefied by the comparison of his girlfriend with his assumed deceased step-brother. They were exactly alike except one is more feminine!

"It's just a coincidence!" Mokuba cried out as if defending himself for whatever he was accused of.

"I am simply pointing this out Mokuba." Seto told him calmly. "I am aware that you are still hoping that Noah is alive considering that you still visit his grave, but you still have the subsequent hope that he is somewhere within our technology. It would be quite awkward if he discovered that you are dating someone who looks similar to him." The brunet told him, and regretted it when he saw the heartbroken and confused expression on his younger brother's face. He didn't mean to make his prized family member to feel hysterical of this discovery, but he needed Mokuba to realize all the pros and cons of being in a relationship with Noe Kaima.

"I..." Mokuba looked at his brother with clouded eyes. "I need a moment alone. I'm taking my break early, Seto." The vice president walked out of the office without waiting for his brother's permission.

Seto sighed out as he turned his laptop back to him. He wasn't sure how he could make this situation better, and whether Mokuba would do something he would regret. The older brother sighed as worry settled in his heart, but he knew that he was the wrong person to try to fix it since he hadn't been intimate like Mokuba was being. He should have thought this through a bit more. He had expected Mokuba to be shock, but to be shocked to the point that life had blackened before his eyes was a shock for himself.

The CEO unsteadily continued work as he tried to figure out how to cheer up his little brother. Then his secretary later told him that Wheeler was on the line for him. Seto answered the phone without looking away from the screen. "What is it, Wheeler? I'm busy."

"Nice to hear from you, too." Joey spat back sarcastically in his male voice. "I jus' wanted te know if ya wanted ta hang with me n' the gang on Friday."

"And why would I want to spend time with you dweebs." He typed away as he spoke half-heartedly.

"It's my birthday, smartmouth!" Joey shouted, but then the passionate anger easily dissipated. Seto noticed when he spoke in a soft tone. "You don't have to come if ya don't wanna. We were just gonna celebrate it by going to Kaibaland, eat at Burger world and watch a movie. Nothin' really interestin'." It sounded perfect for a guy like Joey, but he was unenthusiastic that it unnerved the CEO.

Seto felt compelled to ask the mutt of what's wrong, but that'd go against who he was, so settled with, "If that's all, then I'm going to hang up."

Joey quickly added without vigor, "I'm also gonna tell you that Mokuba agreed to spend the day with us if he hadn't told ya yet." Seto was not aware of this, but his brother must have wanted to tell him before their awkward conversation.

Then the brilliant CEO thought that perhaps Wheeler may be able to help his younger brother. Despite never having a girlfriend, Joey had been influenced by the female species to have the knowledge to help him. He was never the one to ask the dog for favors, but Mokuba needed someone and it might as well be someone Kaiba perhaps trust. "Is that so. Wheeler, I have a proposition for you."

"Proposition?"

"It means a plan." He quipped.

"I know what a proposition, asshole!" The hectic vigor almost returning to the blond. "Haven't you been listenin' that I scored A's in English!"

Seto smirked as he leaned back on his chair like a boss. "Hm. I must have forgotten due to your atrocious accent. Do I have to tell you the definition of the adjective I used?" teased the talented duelist.

Joey could feel the smug smirk on that rich bastard's face! "Fuck you! I'm not gonna do yer retarded _proposition_ if ya keep talkin' bullshit! Do ya want me to define that last word I said, or do ya already know cuz ya are one!"

"There is no need. I doubt you would have given me the correct definition, anyway, Wheeler."

"Why you-"

Seto cut him off, "Fun aside, my proposition is to check on Mokuba. I'm afraid that he may be having problems in his relationship with a female. And as much as I doubt that you will be of any help, Wheeler, surely you are far more applicable despite being a virgin."

Joey ignored all the insults and focused on the big T. "Y'mean Mokuba got a girlfriend! No way! That little sucker beat me!" His vigor back up to normal.

The CEO restrained himself from hanging up on the damn idiot. "Listen, I figured that since you've been associating with the female culture, you could enlighten him with his problem."

"Sure! I helped Ryou and the others with their girl problems! This should be a snap."

Seto wanted to correct him, but figured that Mokuba could fill him on the details himself. "Good, because if you mess up, then you can wish your acting career and reputation goodbye." He hang up the phone.

Kaiba took in a deep breath as a trickle of relief poured on him. He was sure that Wheeler could help, and if not, then he'd do as he threatened to do. Friendship be damned. Bros before idiots.

._._._.

Joey immediately called Mokuba after Seto hung up on him. The pre-teen answered with a deathly bland voice that the blond could've sworn that he was talking to a zombie. The blond used his cheerful demeanor to get the kid to meet him at a cheesecake factory.

Mokuba didn't want to go, but somehow found himself at the factory with Joey. He was not happy, but then after having a bite of cheesecake in his mouth, he began to feel better.

"Food always help cheer you up cuz it helps ya make ya think straight and feel betta about yourself!" The cross dresser told him with his feminine voice. He was currently wearing a long sleeved reddish orange and yellow striped shirt with denim jeans connected to suspenders while a cute reddish orange and yellow strapped beanie was on his head. He completed it with a pair of black thick rimmed eye glasses and red sneakers.

Mokuba gave a small smile. Joey's sunshine personality was rubbing off of him despite his horrible discovery earlier. "Your accent doesn't sound like it used to be." He pointed out.

"Ah, can't help it. After the strict trainin' of learnin' ta speak like a proper lady, I've been tryin' to get my accent back." Joey pointed out and ate hit cake in three scoops, and then ordered for a whole cake instead of a slice to a passing waitress. "So yer brotha wanted me ta speak to you about girls cuz ya got a girlfriend! Congratulations sport!" Mokuba forced a smile that failed to look happy. Joey noticed so asked, "So what's the problem?"

"I rather not talk about it."

"Try me." Joey challenged. "Y'know me, kid. I'm not one ta judge or criticize ya. I'm jus' here ta help you as a friend. So lay it on me when you feel like yer ready."

That put a better smile on the pre-teen's face. The blond had told them a lot of times that they were friends, and honestly, Joey was absolutely the best. He's not better than his brother, but the third best duelist was good in what he can do. And that was being a great friend.

His situation was quite frankly weird, but Joey's been through a lot of weird stuff thanks to Yugi, so he trusted Joey to be true to his words. "Alright, I'll tell you." He told him about what Seto pointed out, and he began questioning himself of whether he truly lo-liked Noe, or if he was just grieving. However, he wasn't mad at Seto for pointing this out. In fact, he was glad he did, so he would be able to be really look inside himself and know of what lo-really really liking a person truly was.

Joey had listened until he was given the signal to start talking to give input. "Wow. Noah Kaiba and your girlfriend huh. I gotta say that that's pretty weird, but I read that seven people share the same face so there's like five people out there who share our faces, so it's not that weird." That helped take most of the weirdness from the topic.

He continued, "And I gotta say that the whole grieving or...really really liking someone," He silently chuckled, "is somethin' you gotta figure out yourself. But if ya plan on breaking up with your girlfriend over this, make sure that you are completely honest with her with the reasons, but also do it gently. Don't make her sound like she's the problem by not putting too much of her into the conversation, but also reassure her that you really did enjoy your time together. Or at least that's what I hear the girls from his fan club say when we were watching a movie together when I found the time to making an entrance at least a few times."

That was good advice. Yet, Mokuba wasn't sure about the breaking up part. "But I don't want to break up with her. I mean, she's amazing. You should definitely try playing the games she made! But that's not what I like the most about her! It's not that I think she's incredibly cute that she could easily be the top three cutest girl in school and is holding the number one title, or that she's smart, headstrong and every single second she spends with me feels like I am taking it for granted..." Mokuba completely forgot of where he was going with this.

Joey grinned at him. "Then don't break up. That's it. If you wanna date her even if you think you're grieving than you must really really like her, right. So she happens to look like your step-brother, it's not like you and Noah are blood-related and you can totally think of Noe as his hot lost twin sister."

That came out strange, but Mokuba thought that maybe Noe could pass as Noah's real twin sister considering that they have such similar backgrounds and appearances. That made it really less weird than thinking he was dating Noe because she could be Noah...

"Do you think he's still out there?" The kid couldn't help asking. Joey was a bit lost. He clarified, "Noah! Do you think Noah is still out there because even when the submarine exploded, he could have had time to download himself to another network before trapping Gozaburo there to be completely destroyed!" His tone sounded desperate for hope.

The blond didn't have the answer, but he mustered the best he could think of. With an unwavering glow to his eyes, he reassured Mokuba, "Yeah, cuz he's that smart unlike that creep, Gozaburo. He's out there. He must be just planning of how to get through all the complicated techno stuff that it should take a lot of time before he can reach you so have faith." He gave a determined grin that made him more convincing. Mokuba was definitely convinced as he smiled back.

The kid took a big bite off his cake, and appreciated the sweet taste with the blueberry syrup. He was really feeling better now, and he was definitely not letting Noe go. She was too special to let go and be some other undeserving guy's own.

The two enjoyed their cake, and then Mokuba asked Joey about how his job was going. The blond replied that he was entering a duel dungeon dice monsters tournament next month. He had been modeling for magazines since the media considered him to be a role model for gay people, cross dressers, people who've gone through abuse, etc. Though he was a controversy due to his rough upbringing and violent nature that his status as a role model was questioned.

As Joey spoke the part about controversy, his cheerful demeanor began to melt away leaving a desolate man. Mokuba questioned in concern, "Is something wrong, Joey?"

The blond snapped out of his distraction. "What? Uh, no! Just tired from all the work! Modeling his hard work! I actually have to work in an hour from now so let's enjoy ourselves!" He then asked with an impish face. "So if you're not gonna break up with your girlfriend, then are you gonna give her anything on Valentine's day or are you gonna do it on White day?"

Mokuba hummed in thought. "White day is a whole month away, and it's supposed to be for the guys to give the girls their answer for their gifts on Valentine's day. Noe already knows my answer, so I'll give her chocolates on Valentine's day. She might get mad, but she's pretty cute when she's mad." He couldn't help daydreaming of his sweet Noe puffing her cheeks and then scolding Mokuba for trying to out show her! But then she'll accept it and turn away to hide her blush. He never thought he'd be the guy who'd be into tsunderes, but who wasn't. There was a tinge of weirdness since he can't help acknowledging that she looked like Noah. He stopped himself from letting the idea get too far by asking Joey, "How about you? Are you gonna give chocolates?"

"Me? I never gave chocolates before since I figured it was a holiday just for girls, but now that I'm dressed like one, I should probably do it for the experience of giving them like Tea does. I have been meanin' to make my own chocolates for awhile after having worked at a candy shop before. I don't have any guy I lie," Big fracking lie! "So I'll just make some for my friends, and that means you, too."

"And Seto?" They both knew his big brother wasn't a fan of sweets, but Joey should at least make one for him for their friendship.

Joey gave a shrug. "I guess I could make him some coffee truffle chocolates, but he already drinks too much coffee. Too much caffeine might hurt, moneybags. Not that I don't find that funny, but y'know. I gotta make all my happy diners happy! I'll figure somethin' out. Wanna help me make them? Kiyoko told me that I could have the day before Valentines day off, and I could teach you how to make chocolates. It's more romantic right?"

The pre-teen was definitely on board! "Yeah! That way Noe will know that I lo-really really like her!"

Joey stifled his snorting chuckles. "Alright. Valentine's eve is on a Sunday so we'll meet at at least ten in the morning. We'll having to shop for the ingredients, and then we'll start making them."

The two agreed to the blithe arrangement.

._._._.

Seto came home and looked for his brother who had called him that he had come home after spending the rest of the day with Joey. The elder Kaiba asked one of his maids of where he was. She replied that the young child was in the game room. The brunet set off to that room to see his brother trying to beat his highest level of one of his many games.

The elder Kaiba cleared his throat to make him presence known. Mokuba looked over his shoulder, and smiled brightly. That washed away all the worry he had been feeling. "Hey Seto! You came home early! Wanna play with me?"

Seto complied to do what his brother wanted to not upset him twice on the same day. "Sure." He sat down on the crescent shaped couch and took the handed controller. And just like the businessman he was, he went quick to the topic he wished to discuss after a few minutes of playing. "So, how was your talk with Wheerer?"

"Joey? He helped me straighten out my thoughts. He's a lot wiser than you give him credit, Seto." Mokuba pressed his buttons with determination while his older brother who was the better gamer just pressed his buttons with fast accuracy to get the needed timed reaction that would lead to victory. He always won. Always.

And Seto snorted at his brother's compliment for the dueling idiot. "How so?"

"Well...First he made the whole Noe and Noah comparison thing seem less weird which really eased me about the whole thing, and Noe is Noe while Noah is Noah. I guess I did unconsciously recognized her as Noah which attracted me to talk to her. But I know the real her. I never got to do the same with Noah..." Mokuba closed his mouth from speaking anymore painful words.

"Of course not. He was spending most of his time bossing around a bunch of useless ex-employees, and trying to drive us apart." Seto was point on. He will never understand the sympathy his younger brother had for the maniac.

"Yeah, but...He was all alone..." Mokuba felt his eyes well up, but he forced them back. He cried enough after Battle City. "But he's out there, and I won't stop searching while in the mean time, I'm still going to date Noe because I _really_ really like her."

"Even if she looks like our step-brother?"

"We're not blood, and Joey told me to just think of Noe as Noah's lost twin sister." Seto cursed himself for making the damn retard be the one to reason with his brother! "And I really do like her, Seto, so please don't be mad. I know that you didn't really like Noah, and you're being an overprotective brother, but Noe's really amazing. Want to try playing a game of hers?"

Seto wanted to deny like a child, but he wasn't a child so grudgingly agreed. Mokuba grinned and took out his laptop to show him the game. Seto played it while his little brother instructed him, and as the brunet played, he was actually impressed with the graphics, the quests, the dialogues and others. It wasn't as good as Kaiba corp.'s technology, but the fact that a girl could make a game so well without the use of their technology was astonishing.

...Perhaps this Noe person wasn't as bad.

._._._.

It was the beginning of February, and Kaiba's limo was stopped due to an unexpected busted engine. "Shall I order another limo to come for you, Mr. Kaiba." Roland questioned.

The tired CEO sighed out. "No. There is a short cut through the park to the mansion. I'll walk the rest of my way there. You stay with the limo, and make sure its repaired."

"But Mr-"

"Are you disagreeing with me." snapped the bitter younger man. Roland apologized and reassured that he will do as ordered.

At truth, Seto needed a nice walk alone to clear his mind. He knew killers roamed the parks at night, but he was capable of handling his own. He walked along the stone path and then passed through the trees to where one would find the playground meant for smaller children while the bigger one was at the other side of the area.

The CEO didn't expect to see anyone there since no responsible parent would have their child play in the park at the dead of night even if the lamps nearby was bright enough.

There were no children, but he could debate against that as he saw a male with a bushel of blond hair sitting on one of the swing set's seats. The person was practically bringing their knees up to their chest from how long the seat was set to the ground.

What was disconcerting about the image was that the familiar male was wearing a short sleeved shirt in the cold winter air.

Kaiba approached him. "Wheeler?" The honey-eyed male had his head hung down with his hands lightly grasping the chains of the swing set. The blond's head whipped to him so fast that he could've given himself whiplash. Seto was surprised to see that the blond's eyes were reddened and cheeks wet.

Joey was crying. This was the first time the blue-eyed duelist ever saw the teen cry. "Oh shit, it's you." The blond faced away to cover his face but he knew it was too late. Though he still tried to act tough, "What brings you here Kaiba?" He spluttered with a pathetic attempt to sound completely fine.

"My limo broke down, so I decided to take a short cut."

"Oh shit. You live nearby?" Joey tried to laugh but became more pathetic than he already was.

"Why are you crying, Wheeler?" Seto ordered for an answer. He expected a glare, but knew Joey didn't want to show his face. The ex-gangster was too proud to show such a weak shameful face. Something Kaiba understood, so he wasn't going to sugar this up.

"I'm not cryin'!" The teen vehemently denied! But the movement of his forearm rubbing his face contrasted his words. "I just got somethin' in my eye! And you can't look at me! I'm not in my girl clothes! It's part of the fuckin' game!"

"Forget the stupid game!" Kaiba commanded. "You are sitting at a damn swing set meant for kids three times younger than our age with a pathetic look on your face and an even more pathetic attempt to cover it up!"

"Why do you even care?!" Joey sobbed coarsely. He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes to stop the tears from falling but they freely let themselves spill to the sand beneath them. "Just leave me the fu-fuck alone _bastard_!"

Kaiba felt an impotent sting in his chest for that deliberate curse word at him. The sting immediately disappeared because he knew he was the better person right now. He considered leaving, but he did feel a sharp sense of concern for the poor excuse of a duelist. "Wheeler-"

Joey flailed the arm, that was closest to the taller young man, in an attempt to hit him. "I said to leave! You don't give a crap about me! You don't actually believe in that whole friendship crap! So leave...me alone." Joey tried to still his breath as he tried to sniff in his wet snot.

Kaiba sighed exasperatingly. "When I said that I cared about you, Wheeler, I meant it."

Joey finally stood up and face him with a contorted face of pain. His hands gripping the lapels of Seto's suit. "LIAR! You're just trying to use me for something'! You don't care about me!" The blond broke into a new set of tears as he weakly added, "No one does."

Now that was nonsense. "What the fuck are you talking about, Wheeler? What about all those nauseating friendship speeches about being friends."

The shorter teen just sobbed. Seto could tell that Joey knew that he wasn't truly alone, but someting that happened before this whole occurence made him think that way.

Seto asked, "Did one of your friends hurt you?"

Joey let go of his lapels as he shook his head. Wiping the wet snot dripping from his nose on his bare forearm as he went back to sitting on the seat. Kaiba took out a handkerchief and handed it to the depressed male. The blond ignored it. Kaiba rolled his eyes and then forcefully wiped the blond's face despite the rejections, and then held the handkerchief at his nose. He ordered, "Blow."

Joey glared at him through reddened eyes, but he eventually did it. Seto crumpled up the handkerchief and threw it in a nearby trashbin. He went back to the sniffling puppy, and then inquired, "What happened?"

Joey was silent for a moment. He didn't want to answer. He didn't feel like it, but Kaiba didn't care about how he felt at the moment. "You just made me waste a perfectly good handkerchief on you. I deserve an answer."

The honey-eyed duelist glared up at him, but it softly disappeared and an apologetic expression took place. Kaiba saw that his friend was organizing his thoughts to how to reply. The brunet let him think as he looked at the little clothing the blond had on. The CEO was wearing a thick white overcoat and scarf with wool gloves on and his hands shoved into his pockets to keep himself warm. How the mutt was capable of not shivering in this cold air was impressive but also ridiculous.

Kaiba sighed as he took off his scarf and wrapped it around the idiot. He slid his coat off as well to cover him. His mansion was nearby, and the depressed teenager in front of him looked to have been out here longer than he have. "Aren't you cold?" He inquired as he placed the coat over the male like a blanket.

"I'm used to it." The young duelist had his eyes downcast to the ground. "My old apartment wasn't insulated or anything so when winter arrived, it was as cold or even colder than outside. Since we didn't have much money, I had to wear old worn clothes to try to keep myself warm. My dad would also kick me out of the place without a jacket or anything, so I had to try to find shelter somewhere which was hard to do since I didn't have any close friends at the time, so I just let myself get use to the cold."

"Didn't you get sick?" Kaiba crossed his arms.

"Sometimes. But we didn't have money for medicine and sometimes I was too sick to make myself anything to eat. So I would just lay on my bed just hoping the pain would go away. I won't get sick. I've been coming here for awhile now, and I'm still fine and dandy like usual."

"So you have been sitting here in the middle of the night whenever you feel miserable in that pathetic life of yours."

"Yup." Joey gave in. He was giving up on starting any argument or retort with the almighty duelist in front of him. He just didn't care, and that upset Kaiba. This wasn't Joey Wheeler.

Seto tried to consider all of the options he could do to get the blond cheerful again, and that was getting the truth of his depression out of him. He considered playing good guy, but then that would've just pissed the teen off. He couldn't act like himself because it would do the same.

So he settled with just sitting on the swing set seat next to the trouble dolt. Joey asked, "Don't you need to get to your mansion? Roland might be worried about you."

"He'll come searching for me when I do not come to the mansion within ten minutes from now, and I'm not leaving until you tell me of what's troubling you." The brunet replied frankly. He was cold and uncomfortable, but he wouldn't feel right if he left right now.

"Why do you care? I'm going back home after I'm done moping, so you can just leave."

Seto sighed out as he began to feel his patience run out. He looked down at his wool gloves on his lap, and then at Joey to see that the blond had his forearms against his lap, and his unprotected hands stuck out in the chilly night air. Kaiba knew that the teen's sensitive finger tips must be stinging in pain by the cold air. Half of Joey's face was covered by the scarf he wrapped around him which must be providing some sort of warmth while his coat must be easing his back from feeling strained painfully due to its exposure.

He then knew that there was something he could do, but his cold heart told him that he would breaking out of his cold exterior that he had been harnessing for years. Admitting that he cared for the blond was an accident, and those feelings could be rid off. He could return to not being friends with Joey if he just walked away right now while declaring their friendship over.

But he didn't want to do that. He wanted to know of what was bothering the blond. His curiosity getting the best of him, so he removed his glove from one hand, and reached out to hold the closest deathly freezing hand.

Joey looked at him in shock as Kaiba replied, "That's because that is not good enough, mutt." Their eyes locked on each other. "You've been coming here for awhile, so whatever is making you depress is much more severe than tedious to make you want to return back to making yourself suffer like this. Do not retort me. Answer my question, instead. What is wrong?" He squeezed the hand he held his warmth embracing the other male's freezing hand.

The actor frowned, and looked away. He finally answered, "It's my mom." Kaiba was surprised. Joey had vocalize of how he wasn't going to abandon his father like his mother; he never spoke about anything good about her ever. Plus, she didn't even live in the city at all, so the CEO was baffled on how she could've caused her son so much pain.

The abandoned son continued, "I was going to call Serenity on New Years morning to tell her happy new years, but my mom was the one who picked up her cellphone. She told me to never talk to her ever again because I was a disgusting, defiling, disgrace of a human being." Joey let a small sad smile appear on his face when all his adjectives started with a D before falling back to despair. "She didn't say those words exactly, but she was really expressive of how much she was disappointed and ashamed of me. And that I was going to be a bad influence for Serenity. She was appalled by how inhumane that I have become." Fresh tears that he didn't know was filling up his painful swollen eyes. "She said she was sorry that she ever had me!"

Kaiba was overwhelmed by this news. Memories of Gozaburo verbally abusing him to no ends to make sure he felt worthless and regretful to have ever existed. But his case was nothing compared to Joey's own since he wasn't blood related to that failure. His blood boiled savagely in his veins as his hand painfully tightened around Joey's own. "OW! Kaiba!"

The CEO let go of his hand, and stood up abruptly. "THAT FUCKING HARLOT!" Kaiba never met the woman, but that poor excuse of a parent should be glad that she never did cross paths with him. Furious eyes set on Joey who was stunned by his reaction. "Don't listen to a damn word she says, Wheeler! As if she knows anything about you! She knows nothing! She may be your mother by blood, but she is unworthy of that title if she declares you a disgrace of anything when she hasn't even had a decent conversation with you for years, and knowingly leaves you in the hands of your father knowing full well of what you were bound to go through!" He gritted his teeth as he balled his hands so tightly that they shook! "She relinquished her right to be your mother long before she reliquinshed your right to be her son! You shouldn't give a fuck of what she declares you to be when it's clear to us that she's the disgrace and you're not! It's her damn fault for whatever her narrow-mind thinks! Not yours!"

Joey just stared at him stupefied.

Kaiba continued, "And who the fuck does she thinks she is for declaring you a bad influence on your little sister when you were the one who paid for her eye surgery and gave her courage and strength I saw you give during Battle City! And no matter how many times your opponents spoke complete garbage to your face, you never let them get the best of you because you know they don't know a single thing about who you truly are! Your mother has no damn clue of who you truly are! So don't let her fucking words get to you, Wheeler! So wake up and get over it!"

There was no sound except for the sound of Seto's pants. He couldn't remember of when he ranted so passionately before. And before the billionaire knew it, he was being pulled into a big hug by the crying duelist. The jacket he had placed on Wheeler had fallen on the ground but none of them cared about that at the moment.

"Mr. Kaiba! You-" Roland stopped when he saw of what was happening. Seto knew he wouldn't speak a word of this to anyone, so allowed the blond to hold him.

Joey didn't notice him as he smiled brightly up at the brunet. The blond widening his smile into a big grin. He sniffed and then thanked him, "Thanks Kaiba. I needed that." He chuckled, "And I never thought I would hear you swear so much."

"Shut up mutt." Kaiba muttered out loud.

"Hey!" Joey pouted at him with a soft glare. And then grinned again.

Seto softly smiled down at him. He couldn't help the rant he gave because he appreciated the blond, though he'd never admit that. If it wasn't for Joey, then perhaps Mokuba was right. He wouldn't have gained something he didn't think he could get out of having a friendship with the blond. It wasn't a new perspective, but an old perspective he abandoned a long time ago as a child. And that perspective was that having a friend wasn't so bad.

He wasn't going to start making friends. He doubt he'll ever have another friend again unless they had both of Joey's selflessness and comedic idiocy which is very rare to come by.

Roland just stood there patiently though was truly stunned to see his boss be sentimental to another person that wasn't his brother.

The blond told him that he was going to leave, and he wasn't to return here in the middle of the night for a long time. Kaiba retorted that he should never come here again or else he was going to call the police and press charges of him being a lecherous criminal. Joey showed him the middle finger which Seto just laughed at derisively.

Seto walked back to his mansion with Roland in tow, and then slept well that night. Joey did the same.

._._._.

It was the day before Valentine's and Mokuba was going shopping with Joey who had been in a chipper mood since he last saw him. The cross dresser was wearing a long sleeve orange blouse with a beige skirt that reached down to his upper knees, and flats for his feet. His hair had grown past his shoulder blades, and was accessorized by a big daisy hairpin.

The blond had bought himself a red pickup truck with the driver license to drive it.

Mokuba was shocked to see this. He wasn't used to the idea of Joey being able to afford stuff like this yet. "Wow! You bought this yourself?!"

The actor grinned as he spoke with his feminine voice, "Kiyoko said that I should buy a car since I'm getting more popular. It looks like I can't ride a bus or the train like a normal person anymore. Nothin' I won't miss since I got myself a sweet ride!" Joey hugged his pickup having his cheek rub against its cool exterior. "Isn't that right, baby! I'll make sure not a single scratch gets on you!" He gave it a kiss.

Mokuba felt an animated sweat drop on the back of his head. "Joey." He drawled. "We're in public."

Joey bashfully grinned at him. "Sorry, but you can't deny that he's a beauty!"

"He?" Mokuba mumbled softly for the blond not to hear. He started to think that Joey might be mechanophile. "Can we just go now? I want to get started with making Noe's Valentine's gift!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch! We're going!" The two got in, and drove to their several destinations. They searched through the several stores, and discussed of which items and ingredients were the best to follow. And then they took a small break by eating parfaits at a restaurant where they talked about what they were doing and the interesting events that had happened. Then they moved on to get the rest of their needed items and ingredients.

"Whoa! Watch your step Mokuba!" Joey grabbed the teen's shoulder before he accidentally bumped into a bunch of running kids on a sidewalk. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I wonder where those kids parents or guardians are. They could get hurt running around like that." The pre-teen began to feel worry, but it wasn't his responsibility to take care of, and he couldn't see where the kids could've went.

Joey felt the same way. "Yeah. Serenity and I used to run along the sidewalk when we really wanted to get somewhere, and we never got hurt. I made sure of that, so they're gonna be okay if they're careful." He then had Mokuba step closer to him. The shorter teen looked up at the eighteen-year-old who smiled down at him with those lovely glossy pink lips and bright caring hazel eyes. "You should stay close to me squirt. It looks like the sidewalk's getting a bit crowded."

The black haired teen nodded, and stayed close to Joey as they walked. He didn't understand of why he felt like he was experiencing something new. He was used to hanging out for Joey, but for some reason, when the blond warmly smiled down at him with such a pretty face, he began to feel like he wanted to stay attach. It's similar to Seto, but different somehow.

Mokuba just accepted the strange emotion as the two continued to spend a great time together shopping, and then went back to Joey's apartment where they began mixing up the ingredients together in separate bowls.

"So who are you going to make chocolates for other than me and Seto?" The kid asked as he stirred his light pink mixture.

Joey replied, "Other than you and Kaiba, I'm making for about seven people: Tristan, Yugi, Tea, Duke, Ryou, Rex, and Esper Roba. Though a bit more for Esper Roba so he could share with his brothers if they want some. I have a lot more friends that I want to give chocolates to, but they're off traveling somewhere in the world doin' their own thing."

"That's a lot of people. No wonder you bought so many different kinds of ingredients from walnuts to marshmallows."

"I'm making the marshmallow milk chocolate bar for Yugi. The peanut bitter chocolate balls are for Tristan. The coconut chocolate is Tea's own. Duke's own is the caramel dark chocolate. Ryou's gonna have the apricot chocolate. Rex will get the cherry covered chocolates. And Esper Roba gets to have the fudge chocolate bars."

"They all sound good! What's mine?!" Mokuba could already feel his mouth watering!

"I figured you'd appreciate peppermint chocolate."

"I definitely would! Man, I want them right now!"

"You gotta wait for tomorrow, ya little runt! It looks like you can stop stirring your strawberry white chocolate now. Just dip it into the heart ice cube tray and put it into the freezer." Joey was already done with Ryou's, Rex's, and Esper Roba's own chocolates. Now he just had to finish the other four.

Mokuba did as he was told whilst asking, "So what are you going to make Seto?"

"I decided to make him chocolate cupcakes."

"Cupcakes?"

"Yeah." Joey said as he dipped the small fluffy marshmallows into the sections of his ice cube tray before overlaying them with more chocolate. "He's not all that much into sweets, so I figured I could just make him some chocolate cupcakes which would go great with his coffee. And instead of frosting, I'll just put heart shaped cut strawberries on top so it can keep the valentine theme." He put his chocolate tray into the freezer along with the others.

"Seto would like that. You must have put in a lot of thought on what to make for him." The black haired little brother grinned. He got his hair ruffled for that smug face.

"Just trying to please my friends with my best treats for them! So are you gonna give Noe a Valentine's day card?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what to tell her without sounding too mushy or not mushy enough!"

"Aaah, I know how that feels like. When I was writing a fan letter to Alexir De Gon, I ended up not sending it because I was too embarrassed and afraid that he might send a rejection letter back."

"Speaking of Alexir De Gon, now that you're famous, do you plan on trying to date him now?"

"Uuh, yeah about that, I rather be friends with him cuz he's a nice guy, but my heart is not into it." Joey said awkwardly. He shouldn't feel weird, but he did leave Alexir without a kiss that he expected. Perhaps if they meet again with Joey's girl clothes on, he might still be expecting that kiss. He didn't want to reject the man, but perhaps they could just share a simple sweet kiss for fun. Yeah, fun!

"I know what you 's a lot of cool, cute and impressive girls at my school, and it would make sense to date one of them, but my heart just wasn't into it. But that all changed when I met Noe, and she's the only girl I plan to date!" A blush was on the kid's cheeks as he grinned so happily of having his first girlfriend be an amazing person he was definitely into instead of just dating some girl who he agreed to out of curiosity.

He felt his hair being ruffled again and then his neck being head locked by Joey's arm. "Awe! You're speaking like a true man!" He comically sniffed as he wiped an invisible tear from his eye. "And it feels like just yesterday when you were that brat back at Duelist Kingdom!"

Mokuba rolled his eyes, and Joey finally finished his last valentine's gift preparation that he put in the freezer. He planned on making Seto's cupcakes after dinner. The older teen's stomach growled upset. "Oh, it should be dinner time for me! Wanna have dinner with me after cleaning this mess up, Mokuba?"

"Sure. Seto has a dinner meeting with another company. Do you want to help you prepare dinner, too? But I doubt I can really be of any help. I'm really thankful I have you around to teach me how or else I would've burned the chocolate somehow." The pre-teen smiled sheepishly.

"You're welcome, and I would definitely appreciate the help." The two of them cleaned the kitchen and then began making dinner. Joey had Mokuba help him by giving him the utensils he needed, and also teaching him of how to slice and dice up the meat and vegetables while being careful so no one ended up with a cut.

They made spaghetti, fried chicken and fried rice. Joey took out a big bottle of coke for their beverage. They enjoyed their meal as they tried to come up with what Mokuba should write in his Valentine's card. They laughed together or Joey laughed at Mokuba when he ended up spluttering, stuttering or shouting angrily in embarrassment when the blond began making dirty jokes.

And then Mokuba decided it was a good time to ask, "Do you think Seto should consider marriage?"

"That frigid bastard?" A dubious expression was on the pretty blond's face, but then after taking a bite of his chin, he began considering it. "He is eighteen and I bet companies with traditional customs would be lining up in a heart beat if they figured out his age despite the red tape he put on his birthday."

"Actually they did. Over a hundred actually!"

Joey snorted, "I bet they're all after either his money or looks."

Mokuba painfully thought that was true. Yet, people have flaws that can be overlooked. "Yeah, but Seto and I did a lot of cross referencing to find who would be perfect. So far we have three candidates that are considerably perfect for him."

"And let me guess, ya brodda doesn't wanna have anythin' to do with dem?"

"We didn't actually discuss about that, but it's highly likely that Seto doesn't want to."

"Then why not just invite them to the next party you guys are having. You said that you guys are having one soon that I can get into right? So I can get Seto to admit that I'm hot already."

"Hm. I guess Seto wouldn't mind. These candidates do have powerful influential parents. If the girls don't succeed then at least Seto got to discuss with their parents on more important matters. Our next party is next month on March. It's another charity party for orphans. Do you still want to go even if Alexir De Gon will be there?"

"I'm sure now that we can just be friends."

After dinner, Joey had Mokuba just put the dishes in the sink since it was almost ten already, and Roland had buzzed in that it was time for the younger Kaiba to return home.

"I really had a lot of fun! And I'll come over here in the morning to get my chocolates. I just hope an Earthquake doesn't come out of nowhere and topples over your refrigerator." Mokuba slightly joked.

Joey lightly scolded him, "Don't go sayin' somethin' like that! You might jinx us! Better knock on wood or we're gonna be sorry." The blond knocked on the closest surface that's wood. Mokuba half-heartedly did the same since he barely believed in the whole bad karma factor from just a joke.

The cross dresser got Mokuba's jacket out of the hallway closet. "And don't forget to bring your valentine wrapping paper, and card. You better put them in your school bag before going to sleep. And alert your chaffeur about this because he's also a human being who needs his sleep, too. Remind Seto, too, if you can. Alright Mokuba?"

"Okay, mom." Mokuba said as he was putting on his jacket. He didn't say it sarcastically, and Joey was aware of that.

"..."

"..."

The two looked at each other as time seemed to pause for them for a moment before Joey broke out into a grin, and spoke in his male voice, "You little rascal! I'm not that bossy! Now Tea, she's bossy! Gawd, do I feel sorry for her future kids. Just kidding! She'd make a great mom! Now you should go. Be safe, kid!" Joey opened the door for him.

Mokuba forced a smile on his face. "You too, Joey! Bye!" He walked out and his legs felt awkward as he continued on.

Joey closed his door with a frown on his face. He felt happy that Mokuba called him mom because it meant that he was being a good role model and friend, but then it reminded him of his mother and what she said. He can't help feeling terrible about who he is, but then he remembered Seto and what he told him at the park.

He smiled sweetly as he embraced the memory. He thought about Seto's pissed face, booming shouting, and piercing cerulean eyes. He remembered the sweet smile the CEO had graced him with as he felt the tears he cried become meaningless as the unexpected savior delivered reason. He touched his chest as he knew his heart was yearning for the tall man to make him happy again. And then chuckled when he thought that he would be mostly mad, but that wasn't so bad. He actually looked forward to the two of them talking, bickering, dancing and smugly smiling.

He affectionately prepared the cupcakes and the strawberries for tomorrow.

._._._.

Seto had returned home from a meeting that turned pointless when the woman he was speaking to had not convinced him to any agreement that he was interested in. He asked one of the maids of whether Mokuba was here or not. His little brother was, and was in his room.

The older brother was worried since the younger Kaiba wouldn't enter his room unless he was looking for something, or something was wrong. He hastely strode to his room and found his brother lying on his bed staring at a picture frame. "Mokuba?" He said softly. He remembered that the pre-teen was spending the day with Joey. If the blond dared do something to upset his little brother, hell was going to have a new comer.

Mokuba noticed him. He tiredly greeted, "Oh, hey Seto." He sat up onto the edge of the bed. He looked down at the picture. "I was just looking at a picture of our parents with us."

"How come?" Seto sat down next to him. Mokuba was only five when they lost their parents, so the subject was a sensitive one.

"I accidentally called Joey, 'mom'."

"Wheeler?" The last he check, Joey was male.

"I didn't mean to," Mokuba quickly pointed out, and then explained himself, "But it just slipped because he was telling me to do this and that with his feminine voice like a mom would. I always saw Joey like a second brother and a close friend, but since he began dressing up as a girl, I guess my subconscience began considering him to be a mother figure. I mean, he protects me, he gives me advice, he calls me his best friend, and teaches me new things... Joey knew that I wasn't joking when I called him that, but he made it seem like I was so it wouldn't be awkward between us. And when I came back home without you here, I began trying to remember what our old house was like. I tried to remember what mom was like, but all I can think about is Joey. So I had to look at our old family picture again. Mom's really pretty."

Seto didn't know of what to say. He never considered Joey to have the traits to be mistaken for a mother since the blond was so childish. But he supposed that Joey can be responsible, and knew how to give a good pep talk in a way that could inspire and calm down those who felt hopeless. At least that was an educated guess from what he could tell from his memories.

The two Kaiba brothers looked down at a picture of their parents. Their mother had kind indigo eyes like Mokuba while she also had long straight brown hair like Seto's own with parted bangs. Their father had blue eyes just like Seto except his combed hair was black. The elder Kaiba looked almost like their father if it weren't for the color and style of the hair.

Seto than replied, "Yes, she is."

"What was mom like?"

The brunet hadn't thought about their parents for years. Mokuba had asked this many years ago, and Seto could answer, and he could answer now due to his photographic memory. Yet, his heart wasn't the same as before. He preferred to leave the past alone unless it deals with him developing a grudge.

However, this situation needed him to remember that past so that Mokuba wouldn't associate the idea of a mother on Wheeler. "She was kind and sweet. She did the chores in the house we lived in and wanted me to focus on my studies and help take care of you while father was at work. She would play chess with me, and she would always beat me at every game I played because before she decided to be a housewife -take note that she chose to be one so that she could spend time with us- she graduated from keio university. She didn't come from a wealthy family. How she got in was through her brains."

"So she was smart like you? What about dad?"

"Father was more creative. He was a toy inventor. He spent most of his days in his office drawing, crafting-his fingers were always coarse because of that. And our mother would help him when he needed corrections on his measurements or opinions. Do you remember that dragon toy he made for us?"

Mokuba stared at him with furrowed brows. He can't exactly place it.

"You were three or four at the time. You were old enough to remember them. You ran across the halls with it while continuously pressing the button on its belly to roar. You played with it every day and took it to bed every night."

"I think I remember. Mine was black with purple eyes. Yours was white with blue eyes. And the blue eyes white dragon wasn't even discovered yet at the time." There were faint images flashing behind the pre-teen's eyes.

"Correct. And I was also very fond of mine as well."

"What happened to them?"

Seto silently sighed out through his nose as he remembered the tragic event. He replied with bitter contempt, "After our parents died, we weren't given a say in the matter of what we were allowed to keep. They just gave us our necessities, and then dumped us at that sorry excuse of an orphanage."

Mokuba knew he should be angry, but that was the past. Yet, he would like something from that past. "So were they just thrown away or stacked away in a garage?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter anyway."

"How can you say that?! Those toys were made by our father with the help of our mom! We should at least have one thing from them! I don't want to keep referring Gozaburo as our father! I want to remember dad no matter how faint or little it is!"

Seto did not like his tone. "Grow up, Mokuba!" He snapped, standing up. His little brother's anger expression fell to feared surprise. "You don't need to continue referring the sorry mistake of a being, Gozaburo as our father! And there's no point in remembering our biological father! If he hadn't-" He stopped himself.

Mokuba glared at him and took his stand despite being shorter. "It wasn't entirely dad's fault that they died! It was an accident at what happened in our house!"

"We were lucky to have not been there in the first place! And it was our father's responsibility to keep us safe! How could he let himself make such a mistake which caused not only his death, but our mother's as well! As far as I am concerned, Gozaburo or our father, they're all failures!"

"I don't care! I have the right to chose whether I want something from our real father!"

"Then go look for it yourself!"

"Maybe I will!" Mokuba ran out of the room fuming.

"Don't walk away from me!" The company owner ordered!

"You're not my dad!" He slammed the door behind him.

Seto was left stunned silent as he silently cursed himself. Him and Mokuba have been arguing more. It must be the teenage hormones kicking in. He may have to give the sex talk sooner than expected since his only acknowledged family member had a girlfriend he hadn't even met yet, and doubted that he would be introduced as soon as he wanted.

Kaiba partially blamed Wheeler for this argument. If only that damn blond hadn't tricked his little brother with his cross dressing ways, then Mokuba wouldn't have bought up their family. Yet, he himself was the cause of this cross dressing due to goading the blond to continue. Though he admitted to a false defeat to stop Joey before, he knew that he should've expected the mutt to not accept his admittance.

Now it was less likely that Joey would stop because it was his trademark to becoming more popular.

The exhausted older brother let out an audible sigh, and stripped out of his clothes. Him and Mokuba can talk tomorrow morning during breakfast. They merely spoke out of term, and if Mokuba still wished to find those dragon toys, then he won't get in his way. But he truly thought it to be a waste of time.

._._._.

In the morning, Mokuba felt ashamed for his actions. He had no right to be as angry as he had gotten when the memory of their parents was more vivid than his, so obviously he couldn't empathize with his big brother. But he was still going to stand by his wishes to find these dragons.

And so when the two brothers went to their dining room for breakfast, the CEO was already up and changed into his school uniform. He was on his laptop reading the news with a cup of coffee in hand. Mokuba took a deep breath and then greeted, "Good morning."

"Good morning." Seto replied without looking away from the screen. There was silence.

Mokuba knew that he was the one to make things clear between them. He also had to hurry up and go over to Joey's house. "Seto...I'm sorry about last night." His older brother's blue eyes were on him. The cup of coffee was settled on the table. "I didn't mean to offend you, and get mad. But I'm still going to look for the dragons since its ours. And I'm not only doing it to have something to remember dad, but to also remember that everything wasn't so bad back then. It might not mean anything to you, but it means a whole lot to me, so please don't be mad."

"I won't be, Mokuba. You can do whatever you want to do. I am also sorry for speaking out of turn with you. I acted crudely on our discussion, and let my emotions get the best of me. I promise that it won't happen again."

Hearing that promise made Mokuba smile; Seto always kept his promises. "Thanks Seto." He then began scarfing down his breakfast and taking big gulps to wash down the food. He felt his chest becoming heavy, but he knew it would get better soon. "I'm going now."

"Why are you in a hurry to school?"

"I'm going to Joey's house first so I can go get my chocolates! And I'm going to need his opinion on what I wrote on my valentine's day card!" The young male blushed hotly. He felt nervous to show the actor his card.

Seto frowned. "If I may speak, and I will. I think you should stop spending so much time with the mediocre."

That made Mokuba remember what happened yesterday. He felt even more unsettled with meeting Joey, but his love life depended on it! So he retorted, "I don't spend so much time with him! He's been busy with his acting job and dungeon duel dice monsters tournament which I heard that he won by the way!"

"Hmph. It must've been dumb luck." Though Kaiba had immediately skipped through the news to read about the tournament that took place during this week. It was true that Wheeler had won the game in the end. The blond had stated that the whole tournament was fun since he got to meet so many other fun and wonderful people who loves taking chances!

Seto rolled his eyes. Pure idiots must've entered the competition if he ended up being the champion for once. If him or Yugi had entered, then he would've lost for sure.

The brunet then began to question of why he felt hormonal urges for the nitwit in the first place. And then he looked at the picture on the news that showed Joey Wheeler holding his golden trophy that took the shape of a hand holding three dices in between its fingers. It was a fully body picture with Duke standing beside him. And now he was completely reminded of how damn amazing his legs were.

._._._.

Joey had helped Mokuba wrap his chocolates, and commented on his card to be really touching and sweet. It wasn't too mushy at all, and that was coming from a guy who strayed away from being too mushy.

There was no awkward tension at all between them. Mokuba practically forgot all about it the moment he stepped in, and saw Joey's bright smile. The pre-teen really felt comfortable around him, so he confessed to what happened last night. Not the part of telling Seto about the mistake he did with Joey, but about his parents and how upset they both got at each other. But then they sort of worked it out earlier without any problems at all.

"Well, I think it's a good thing that you're searchin' fer your dragons." Joey commented. He knew that the best thing to do was make Mokuba know that he was on his side. "Whatever is Seto's problem, it's not yours as long as that robot of a brodda of yours isn't gonna let it be. If there's anyway that I can help, just call. And don't mind leavin' a message since I can't predict how busy I'm gonna get."

Mokuba smiled. He was happy that Joey was on his side on this. "Thanks Joey. I'll definitely will when I need to!"

"Awesome! Now get out of here, and impress ya girlfriend!"

"R-roger!" Mokuba didn't mean to feel really happy when he was reminded that Noe was his girlfriend.

The two of them went to their own schools. Joey gave each of his friends their own types of chocolates which were in their own heart covered cellophane bag or box.

"Wow, thanks man!" Tristan pop a ball into his mouth. Duke grinned at him as he thought of something naughty. The couple were supposed to reveal their relationship on Christmas, and they did with Yugi, Tea and Ryou, but they couldn't do it with Joey.

They were going to tell him at the restaurant that Joey wanted them to eat at together. But then the moron gave a heart felt speech about how they were all friends whom weren't in a relationship at all, and that made him really happy.

_"I mean seriously! How is it that we all ended up about to graduate single! Though it's kinda pathetic, I'm really glad that we are since having a relationship can get in the way of friends. It would be even more awkward if one of us dated the other, y'know!" Joey pointed out._

_Tristan tried to cut in, "Well, man-"_

_But Joey didn't hear him, "I mean if one of you guys were a couple, then I'd feel really awkward when I'm around you guys, and hesitate on calling or hanging out with you guys cuz you might be on a date, and I don't wanna be the annoying third wheel. It'd totally suck if I needed one of you guys, but I see you two walking along the sidewalk together, and I don't wanna intrude or anythin' even if I would really like a friend around." He began to get teary. "You guys are the best!"_

_The couple looked at each other, and knew that they couldn't do that to Joey when graduation was so close, and they don't know of how much longer all of them were going to stay together or keep in touch. Joey was sensitive to loneliness and secretive about it, so they decided that for the sake of their friend, they won't make him feel like the third wheel._

"You shouldn't have." Yugi smiled as he received his box of chocolate marshmallow bars.

"Wow! You make what I got look like such an amateur's and I've been giving you all chocolates since we've became friends!" Tea joked. "How dare you keep such wonderful treats from us Joey Wheeler!"

"They taste magnificent." Ryou complimented when he took a bite of his.

"Anyone else that you plan on giving?" Duke questioned as he put his gift in his book bag.

"Just Rex and Esper Roba since they're around here."

"Those two?" Tristan was shocked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I consider them my friends. Esper Roba more so than Rex, but hey, at least I'm not giving any to that slime ball, Weevil." Joey thought with disgust of the bug who used nothing but dirty tricks. He knew what happened on that train when Dartz was trying to destroy the world! He wanted to beat the damn worm senseless! But bygones had to be bygones.

As he was talking, Kaiba had been listening. He did not hear his name, and that had upset the CEO. Just because they were secretly friends, it didn't mean that he couldn't at least mention him. Even if it had to be in a whisper. he thought the damn dog wasn't afraid of his so-called fan club.

He didn't care for gifts on Valentine's day at all. In fact, he despised it. His locker, for some reason always intruded despite the lock he put on it himself on this specific day, was always filled with tons of candies and pieces of envelopes and papers.

But he wasn't looking forward to the gift from Wheeler. He just wanted to know that Wheeler would give him a gift out of his stupidity of their friendship. He told himself that he shouldn't care, and be happy that Wheeler didn't make him a gift. Yet a small voice at the back of his head told him that he was lying. He deserved a gift for allowing the blond to be his friend.

After school, Kaiba left in a reluctantly upset mood. He shouldn't care or should care so much that Wheeler hadn't given him a gift. His arguing brain hadn't reached a result yet.

As he headed straight to work, he blocked that argument. At his building, he had changed out of his uniform and into his suit to appear more business-like. Then was followed by his secretary to his office about his schedule. When he sat down, he immediately got on his laptop to check all statuses on his company's current projects, and made some corrections here and there until it was time for a short break to collect his thoughts.

When it was time for that break, he leaned back against his seat, and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he fell asleep. He considered himself to never do so on the job, yet last night was especially difficult to sleep through when the past seemed to have haunted or annoyed him.

In his dream, he found himself in a forest riding on the back of who appeared to be Mokuba as the horse again. "Hey Seto! You slept again!" His little brother neighed.

The CEO sighed. "I take it that since you are a horse, I'm in another pointless fairytale dream or better put nightmare."

"You didn't do so great on the last one, so here's your next chance to kiss Joey, again!"

"And why exactly should I kiss him?" He went for the kiss before, but now he was not fond of fairytales at the moment.

"Because you like him!" His brother cried out as if its a matter of fact. "And don't deny it! You got really mad when that Zigfried tried to kiss him!"

"I wasn't mad." The brunet reasonably pointed out. "I was simply not fond of the idea of Wheeler being that poor excuse of a CEO's pet. Only I can call Wheeler, my mutt."

"Suuuuure."

Seto childishly kicked his brother's sides lightly. Mokuba just giggled at him. "So what fairytale is this?"

The horse replied frankly, "Snow white."

The older man grimaced. "I should wake up."

"SETO!"

"I am not kissing Wheeler."

"But you like him!"

"Wanting to have sex with him is a completely different matter."

"But you never lusted for anyone before like you did for him!"

His real brother would not know that, and he was never going to discuss that with Mokuba. And if they would, it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation. "I am not talking to you about this even if you are just a figment of my dreams."

The tan horse snorted and shook his head disappointedly. "It doesn't matter because we're here!"

The two ended up at an opening in the forest where the uncovered canopy let down a heaven like sunlight glow upon a golden casket that held the sleeping Joey Wheeler dressed as Snow White on it. Seto Kaiba once again stared down at the male's beauty. The sunlight was pale in comparison to the teen's golden locks, and his lips were once again calling out to him to be touched with his.

The stubborn blue-eyed duelist resisted the urge to finally kiss him. Instead he looked to the drawves surrounding the beautiful male. He saw the seven people that Joey was giving chocolates to: Yugi (Doc), Tea(Happy), Tristan (Grumpy), Duke (Sleepy), Ryou (Bashful) Rex (Sneezy), and Esper Roba (Dopey).

"Why am I sleepy?" Duke questioned before unwillingly yawning.

Rex replied, "I don't know. But wh-wh-why ACHOOO! Mmmmm." The dinosaur lover groaned.

Tristan was the first to notice Seto's presence, and being his dwarf characted, he yelled, "Oh no! You are not kissing him, you jerk!"

Seto glared callously at him. "Shove off, miniscule idiot. I have no interest in kissing your so-called princess."

Duke shouted, "Then why don't you get lost! The only way to wake up Joey is by true love's kiss, and you're definitely not in love with him."

"No shit Sherlock." His heart pang in rejection, but was sourly ignored.

"But we need to wake him up!" Tea pointed out. "If only evil Marik hadn't tricked him into eating the apple, he wouldn't be in this situation!"

Ryou then suggested guilelessly, "Then why doesn't Yugi kiss him."

Everyone stared at him with widened eyes and some of their own jaw slackened. Yugi blushed despite Ryou being the one who was to blush. "M-Me? But Joey's my best friend."

"So? Best friends can end up falling in love with each other, and as far as I'm aware, you two are the most compatible with each other."

Tea frowned. "I hate to say it, but Ryou's right. You're the closest one we know who can give him true love's kiss." She blushed a bit due to her love for yaoi blooming inside her.

Yugi's cheeks reddened. "But we-"

"C'mon man!" Tristan yelled! "Kiss him!"

"We don't have all day y'know." Duke pointed out.

Ryou encouraged, too. "Go on."

Mokuba furrowed his unnoticeable horse brows together in concern. He turned his head to his older brother. "Seto?"

Seto was deathly silent with a malevolent glower that was solely focused on Yugi. The king of games felt the serrating glare aimed at him. A reverberate of shudders and the instinctive need to gulp down his last chance for air coursed throughout his body. His hair standing perfectly from all around him. The drawf wanted to say something, but his lips felt like they were zipped closed, and the others felt the same when they felt the terrorizing atmosphere.

He had Mokuba step forward until he was able to glare downward at the tri-colored spiky hair drawf who began to feel a leakage in his pants. He spoke in an ominous voice, "You will never dare touch his lips before me. I can live with you summoning an Egyptian god or whatever on the field before me, but I will never let you live if you dare kiss my mutt before me."

Tristan tried to deny what he said, but when that glare was focused on him, he kept shut and lowered his head in defeat. Seto got off his brother's back so that he could lean down and claim Joey's lips for himself.

He smirked to himself victoriously when he was close to his prize. One of his hand running through one of the blond's legs. He had that hand stop on his thigh under the yellow skirt. He just needed to place his lips on-

Seto fell on the floor. He quickly got up, and looked around to make sure that no one had caught him in his less spectacular moment. He was pleasantly alone, and then scolded himself for actually taking a dream seriously. He didn't care if Yugi got to kiss him. He excused his anger as him simply being territorial. He smashed any small voices in his head that wished to retort.

His secretary buzzed to him that an anonymous gift was sent to him by a blond delivery man. Seto rose both his eyebrows and eyelids to this. He then had a malicious smirk on his face.

He told his secretary to bring it in. The woman walked in to show that the gift was a box meant for pastries. She set it on his office desk, reminded him of his appointments and then walked out. Seto opened the box to find chocolate cupcakes huddled together with strawberry hearts put in a small depression on the center of the cupcakes. There was a taped card on the inside of the lid.

The CEO took it into his hands, and then opened it to see some sharp slanted writing. It stated:

_Happy Valentines ya jerk! I figured that since you're not all that much of a fan with candy, I figured that making you cupcakes would be the best thing! It would go great with your constant need for coffee! The strawberries were added to keep the theme! As if I would actually give you any hearts if it weren't for the Valentine's theme, nincompoop! Anyway, I don't care of what you do with them. Just know that I care about you, too. As much of an egotistical, megalomaniac, bossy, inconsiderate, selfish, arrogant, and mean jerk of the whole damn world...you're not that bad of a guy. _

_From the hottest cross dresser you ever known (Still wanting you to admit that already you frigid bastard),_

_Joey Wheeler_

Seto hid a smirk behind his fist as he reread the note. He shook his head and took a bite of one of the cupcakes. It had no filling or frosting, but that was a good thing as it did not taste too sweet. The texture was fluffly and its natural coacoa taste overflowed the buds of his tongue.

After eating that one cupcake with the sour-sweet strawberry heart, he closed the box so he could eat the rest of the cupcakes later. He put the card in one of his locked drawers. The day became a bit more tolerable than usual.

._._._.

Still Valentine's Day, Joey was hanging out at Yugi's room. He had an hour before he had to go to work to do more modelling, and he got accepted to dance in a music video. The two of them was playing capsule monsters on the floor.

"I'm glad to see that you are feeling better Joey." The king of games commented as he opened a level five capsule monster to the field.

"What'dya mean, Yug'?" Joey had three level four monsters and at least one level five unlike the king of games who had two number threes and one number two. Yet, the actor knew he had to be careful.

"I noticed that you haven't been feeling well for awhile, and I thought it was because of your new found responsibility as a star. But it seems now, you must have gotten the hang of all that." The shorter teen pointed out as he moved one monster forward.

Joey did the same as he grinned. "Yeah! It was pretty tough, but I got used to it and I'm definitely ready to take on higher risk!"

Yugi gave a small smile. "Just don't go too crazy or else you might end up being the butt of everyone's jokes and not in the good way."

"Don't worry, Yug'! I'm not goin' to become an addict. Though I have to be careful with what I say."

The two paused their conversation to become solely concentrated on the game in between them. And in the end, Joey lost. "Augh! I lost! Hmph. I should've known I wouldn't win! This game is practically chess! Just with more interesting pieces and special abilities."

"Better luck next time Joey." Yugi pulls out that innocent grin that mildly annoyed the actor in front of him. "At least your the champion of dungeon dice monsters!"

"Pffbt! It took Duke hours to teach me. What with the whole color code, symbols and what not. It took your gramps days to teach me duel monsters! It's a good thing Duke's game is similar to Duel monsters or else I might've been in real big trouble!"

The two friends rearranged their capsule monsters to play again. Then Joey thought of an interesting conversation. "Hey, Mokuba told me that a lot of companies are trying to hitch Kaiba with their daughters."

"That's no surprise. He is the youngest and most powerful CEO around the world. When the world was in danger, his company was always a target."

"Mmph. Anyway, Mokuba sent me the photos of the three candidates that could be perfect for Seto. Wanna see their photos?" The blond took out his cellphone, pressed on the screen, and then showed it to his best friend.

"Ooh she's cute." He commented at the sight of the strawberry blond. He turned the picture to the right. "She looks like a lot of fun." He said of the dirty blond. And then went to the last picture, and his eyes widened. "She looks a lot like Kisara."

"Who?" Joey arched an eyebrow. He had been thinking of his strategies to win this time, but he completely dropped them when he heard a name he had never heard of before.

Yugi explained, "It was after we saved Egypt with Atem. On the way to the battle ceremony destination, he shared his memories with me." He walked around the boardgame to sit next to his best friend. He showed the picture of the girl with blue eyes and platinum hair. "Seto's past life as Priest Seth cherished a woman named Kisara who looked exactly like her. Kisara died protecting Priest Seth from his possessed father, and she was the holder of the Blue eyes white dragon. After her death, the blue eyes white dragon was given to Priest Seth."

"And she reincarnated into this girl. I think her names Kisandra. Just remove the N and D and you got yourself Kisara. And that's too much of a coincidence since Kisandra isn't a common name." Joey narrowed his eyes at the picture. He couldn't help feeling a painful clench in his chest. "So you're sayin' that she must be Seto's soul mate."

"Maybe. Perhaps it's destiny that they are to meet."

Joey felt the clench in his chest tighten. But he masked his pain with a grin. "Then we got ourselves the winner that'll get that frigid bastard to loosen up finally!"

"We don't know that for sure, Joey."

"But it's meant to be! I'll text Mokuba that Kisandra could be the one!" He took back his phone, and began texting the kid.

"I doubt he'll believe that they're soul mates, but it I guess it wouldn't hurt! Though I never thought you'd help Seto find true love." It was weird to see the blond, who hates the blue-eyed duelist, try to help him.

"Ha! As if! I'm jus' doin' this so he could be less of an asshole to us!"

The two smiled at each other, but Yugi's own was genuine while Joey's own was forced. He did have a crush on Seto, but they were friends, and as a good friend, he'll let go of his foolish emotions and help the CEO finally find happiness.

Mokuba texted back that he didn't believe him:

**"Are you sure?"**

**"TTLY! Kisandra is the 1! I jst know it!"**

**"So should I jst forget the other two?"**

**"Yeah. Only invite her so it doesn't get chaotic or whatnot."**

**"Okay. 10-4."**

**"Cool. And Yugi n I know de perfect plan 2 gt Kaiba 2 notice her!"**

**"Wait? Yugi knows?"**

**"Yeah, I showed him the pics n he ttly thinks Kisandra is the 1! U can't not believe the king on games on this!"**

**"...Okay. So what's the plan?"**

Joey and Yugi collaberated with Mokuba on a plan to get Seto to hook up with Kisandra. They drew up several different kinds before they settled with one, and then Joey had to leave for work.

"Let me walk you out." Yugi offered politely. The two walked out of the game shop. Joey faced Yugi with a mischievous giddy grin. "I can't wait for next month! There's no way our plan's gonna fail!"

"I wish I could help, but I'm not into those kind of events."

"I can't believe you didn't want to come as my date!" Joey gave a cute teasing hurt pout.

Yugi lightly laughed. "If I went with Joey, you might not be able to find prince charming!"

The taller teen snorted, "Nice one, Yug'. But I'm not lookin' for a boyfriend, yet." He gave a wink to emphasize that he's a cutie who didn't need a guy right now. Unknown to the two of them, a bunch of kids were running towards them. Joey was pushed. Yugi was shocked and wasn't sure of what to do as the actor began following down towards him like a giant.

Joey tried to find his balance, and caught it on one foot was popped up. His hands were planted on Yugi's shoulder and before he could stop himself, his lips were softly planted on the king of games' own.

The blond threw himself back causing both of them to land on the pavement on their back. Joey quickly got up and looked down at his best friend. "Yu-Yugi! Are you okay?!"

The small teen was lying on the ground with a dream-like expression on his face. "Wow, your lips are really soft."

"Oh god! I'm sorry man! Was that your first kiss cuz that was mine?! If that makes you feel better! I didn't-"

Yugi laughed at him. "It's okay Joey. It was just our lips touching accidentally. It's not like we suddenly fell in love with each other." The small teen sat up. "Can you give me a hand?" He smiled pleasantly.

Joey smiled back relieved. "Yeah." He grabbed his best friend's hand and helped him up. "Sorry for panickin', man." He breathed out. "And oh my gawd, we're each others' first kiss! I love you, but I never thought we'd kiss." He began looking around. "I don't see anyone, so I guess this can be a secret between us."

"Sure Joey! I don't want our friends to think we want to date each other all of the sudden because of that one kiss!"

"SHhhh! People are coming!" It was just a few strangers passingby, but due to being both famous, they had to be extra careful.

Yugi covered his lips with his hand. "Right." He giggled. "Sorry. So see you tomorrow after school?"

"Yup! See you later bud!" He waved his hand before walking away.

Yugi made sure his best friend got into his truck. In the middle of doing so, he heard a strange rustling nearby. He looked at where he thought the sound was coming from, but it was silent. "Hm? Must've been my imagination." He then saw Joey drive off, and then entered the game shop.

._._._.

"WHAT?!" Joey was staring down at the computer screen of one of his fangirl's laptops. His fangirls and boy were crowded in front of him. One in the front center was holding the laptop in her arms.

Right now he was staring at a picture of him and Yugi close eyed and kissing each other. And his popped foot made it look like it was a fairytale moment. And this just happened yesterday! Valentine's day!

"Is something wrong, Joey?" Tristan asked as he heard his cry. He saw the screen and went dumbstruck.

Tea, Ryou, Duke and Yugi looked at the picture when each of them had come to Joey's need. They all went dumbstruck as well.

Joey quickly tried to fix this. "It's not what you think!"

"Are you sure?" Duke questioned. The most likely one to shake out of his confusion first. "Because it looks like you and Yugi kissing and it doesn't look edited at all."

Tristan grabbed the lapel's of Joey's school uniform. "Are you serious man! What happened to your whole not dating your friend speech! And to think I hid my relationship with Duke!"

"WHAT?!" Joey was dumbstruck by this news. The people in the hall were surprised as well except for his friends.

Tristan realized what he horrifyingly did. "I-I mean-"

Duke sighed. "Way to go, genius."

"Wait?! You and Duke?!" Joey freed himself and looked at the couple back and forth as if trying to make sense of this.

The dice duelist explained, "Tristan and I have been dating since July, and we were going to tell you when we thought it was official. But then you gave your whole not dating your friend speech, and we decided to do it after graduation so it wouldn't get awkward between us."

Joey listened but the words weren't making sense even when it should be. "What?!"

All his friends audibly sighed out. Seto walked out of the classroom because he was going to give Wheeler a piece of his mind for being so obnoxiously loud during the morning. But that goal was shoved off a cliff when his eyes laid on the computer screen.

His...two rivals locked in a passionate lip lock. His hands clenched painfully at his sides, but he kept his expression blank.

Joey knew he saw. "Kaiba! It's not what it looks like! This was all an accident you hear me!"

Duke pointed out, "Yeah, that's good to know, but you better shout that a bit louder for the whole world to heart."

"Shut it Dice freak! We'll talk later! I need to call Kiyoko and sue the bastard who took this picture!" Joey ran to the roof of the school for privacy to talk to his agent. Yugi and his friends ran after him except for Tristan, Duke and Kaiba. The couple needed to talk, and Kaiba walked back to class.

He didn't understand the thrashing anger inside him. He didn't understand why he wanted to find Yugi, wrap his hand around his tiny throat and squeeze. He wanted to not crush his windpipe immediately. He was going to add the intensity of the tightness he hand around that throat slowly while the pathetic dwarf was pathetically squirming and pulling at his hand to let go and be free to breathe. But he wasn't going to give the damn midget the light of day. Only hell's fire for daring to kiss Wheeler.

He hated himself for thinking this way. Not because he knew murder was wrong, but he shouldn't be worked up with seeing the blond kiss someone other than him. They weren't dating and surely that wasn't the damn dog's first kiss...

Perhaps he should get a knife and skin the lips of the cursed king of games.

._._._.

"A week until a broadcasting interview! But I need to inform the world now! And I can't just use my blog cuz the whole world doesn't look at it!" Joey shouted in his phone out of desperation. Kiyoko told him on the other line that the most popular news show already had a full schedule. "Can't this be an emergency! I am Joey Wheeler who kissed the freakin' king of games! I think every duelist would like to know what's really happening between the two best duelist in the world!"

Kiyoko sighed, and then informed him that she will see what she can do. Joey thanked her and apologized for shouting. She told him that she sympathized with his situation so no hurt feelings, and then hung up.

Joey sighed out and then groaned. The bell rang for class. The actor wanted to cry because he didn't want to go into class. Yugi walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The third best duelist looked up to see his best friend's unaffected smile. "Come on, Joey. It doesn't matter what other people think. What matters is what we think, right?"

The blond sniffed, and then got on his knees to hug him. "You're right!" He then looked around quickly. "NO ONE BEDDA BE TAKIN' PICTURES CUZ I'M GONNA DESTROY IT AND RIP YOUR EYES OUT!"

They quickly got to class, and nothin' different changed except for the whispers and glances at Yugi and Joey. The blond tried not to glare at them since they were innocents. There were also whispers and glances at Tristan. Duke was in a different class.

When lunch came, Joey immediately zipped out to call his agent on the roof. "Kiyoko! Any good news?!" Kiyoko affirmed that she did as almost ever news channel wanted to interview the supposed couple since this was the first time a love interest was showed for the king of games and the cross dresser. The people really wanted to know of whether the king of games was gay or bisexual. She scheduled for an appointment tomorrow to the best news channel in Domino City at a time where most viewers were watching. "Thank you Kiyoko! I knew I can count on you!" He hung up after geting the exact time and place.

He happily told Yugi about it, and the tri-colored spiky hair teen reassured that he could do it. He did feel nervous, but it was important to set things straight. Joey wrapped his arm around him grinning.

Duke and Tristan then bought up the discussion with their relationship now in the open. Joey was upset that they didn't tell him, but he understood that they did it for his benefit, so he was totally cool with it. Tristan sighed in relief, but then was pinched at the ear to be reminded that their troubles are still not done since now even he got to explain to his own fans and dad about them and the traditional guy having to do the same with his family. The tall brunet groaned miserably, and blamed Joey for his misfortune! The blond just rolled his eyes at him with a raspberry tongue.

The two of them got into a short scuffle before the bell rang, and they went back to class.

After school, Joey called Kaiba at his apartment. "Hey, so what you saw earlier."

Kaiba inwardly growled. "Let's get something straight, Wheeler. I don't give a damn of who you snog in the middle of day light in public carelessly. It's not my problem, so don't bother with the details." He snapped.

Joey felt like he's being scolded for no good reason. "Sheesh, I jus' wanted to set it straight that what you saw was an accident! A bunch of kids-"

"I said I-"

"LISTEN TO ME." Joey set his foot down with such a demanding tone that even Kaiba felt that he should follow reluctantly. "I was pushed and it just happened. But we're not interested in being in being in a relationship."

"And why do I care?"

"So you won't start calling Yugi my boyfriend, ya asshat. God knows that when we're going to fight, you're going to bring him up as my boyfriend. And don't tell me I'm wrong, Seto Kaiba!"

Kaiba growled. He asked, "Why not? He already told you he loves you, and you two already seemed to be all over each other."

"All over...What? Kaiba, there's nothing wrong with telling your best friend that you love them! And maybe if you had friends, you'd know that."

"Well, we're friends. Are you going to tell **_me_** that you love me?"

There was silence on the phone. Joey knew that he should yell at him, but then he wanted to make things clear that friends can do it. He grumbled and then took a deep breath before confessing, "Kaiba...I love you." Now after staying that, Joey felt his heart thump hard against his chest.

Kaiba was shocked. He stared at his phone as if it staring at it would have the item itself tell him that he was hallucinating what he heard.

"Kaiba?" Joey inquired. His cheeks burning. He heard the phone dial. "KAIBA!" He called him again.

"What?" The stoic voice said.

"Why did you hang up on me?! You just made it awkward!"

"I made it awkward! You just told me you loved me!" He said this while Mokuba was entering the office. His younger brother stared at him, and Seto didn't exactly care when the mutt began barking back at him.

"You asked if I would, and I did! It was just so you know that friends can tell each other that!"

"Well, I did not need that kind of confirmation!" He stood up slamming his hand on his table.

"How else was I going to convince you, you asshole!"

"Why do you even need to convince me at all!"

"Because we're friends!"

"Perhaps I should rethink of you being my friend if it means ludicrous words coming out of your mouth!"

"Well maybe we should stop being friends, if you're going to a complete dumbass!"

"Are you sure you should be calling me a dumbass! I'm the one standing at the very top of Kaiba corp.!"

"Blah, blah, Kaiba corp, blah blah, you're an asshole, blah blah, I meant you acting like a dumbass over me telling you that I love you!"

"I don't want you telling me that you love me!"

"It doesn't matter what you think because I love you even though I hate you more!"

"What sense does that make!"

"The sense where you are such a prick that I hate you, but I can't deny that I care about you, too!"

"Likewise! Except you are a dog who needs to wear a muzzle so you can stop barking like a complete moron!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"FUCK YOU, TOO!"

Both males were huffing for air after screaming at each other for a good five minutes. They were both somewhat sweaty, red in the face, and hearts thumping wildly. Mokuba was surprised to see his brother in this state.

After their panting quieted, a silence descended on the room. Neither of them wanted to speak, but Kaiba had to since he had a meeting to attend. But he didn't know of what to say.

Joey decided to speak since he also had an appointment to go help out a campaign of child abuse. He said, "So...see you at school tomorrow? Yugi and I just as friends are going to an interview after school to reassure the world that he's straight and we're not dating."

Seto felt so glad to hear that his arch rival was straight. But he still wanted to skin the dwarf's lips. "Whatever." He hung up his phone.

Joey did the same though slowly. He cannot believe he just told Seto Kaiba that he loved him. Even if he meant to say that as just a friend. But then, he thought that he didn't say it as a friend, after all.

._._._.

"I don't think I can do this." Yugi felt his stomach churning and his head becoming light. Joey and him were backstage, and it was a few more minutes until they had to walk in. The purple-eyed teen knew he agreed to this interview to set things straight to their fans, but he was never used to these kind of things.

Joey placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Yugi. You just gotta answer the questions. If you're tongue tied, then leave it to me." He gave a comforting smile. Yugi somewhat relaxed and placed his hand on the comforting one for reassurance.

The two of them were dressed for the occassion by a stylist that Kiyoko paid for them. Joey was wearing a white tanktop, zebra printed skirt with a bedazzled black belt, and a red leather jacket. His hair was moussed down and he was handed a pair of round black glasses to look especially cooler outside with his other accessories. Yugi was wearing a gray dress shirt, black vest, light gray tie, black pants, and shoes. The shorter teen didn't feel out of place appearance-wise and reputation-wise.

Then the female hostess of the interview announced their entrance. Yugi's heart nearly ripped out of him. Joey walked forward with the teen following behind. The tri-colored teen looked to the clapping audience, and felt his heart lunge itself into his throat. Sweat droplets were forming at his forehead and temples.

He thought he was going to pass out, but then he felt hand clasp around his upper arm. He looked to the source to see Joey's confident smile. Yugi smiled back and continued walking to the white comfy couch set out for them. They took their seats.

The hostess introduced them again, "Here we have to the left, Joey Wheeler, the runner up of duelist Kingdom, and top four in Battle City as well as one of the top eight in the Kaiba Grand Prix. He is known by the creator of duel monsters, the esteemed Maximillion Pegasus, himself, as the third best duelist in the world not from is winning streak, but because of his raw talent. Now he is an actor who have been seen helping out different campaigns from child abuse to LGBT."

Joey gave his best smile. Yugi smiled proudly at his best friend. And then blushed when the woman turned her introduction to him. "And right next to him, is thee Yugi Muto! The King of Games who had won each and every of those tournaments I mentioned! And is the number one best duelist in the world without a doubt! He's continued attending dueling tournaments for charities for helping sent food to hungry children, raise money for pet shelters and so much more!"

The crowd applauded with cheering.

"My, we have quite the couple! But what sort of couple? That is what we are hear to learn, and also ask them a few questions. Some from myself, and from the audience. So the big question first, Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Muto, are you two a thing?"

Joey replied with his female voice, "Not at all. That kiss you saw on the news is way out of context!"

"You mean this picture?" The woman showed their pictured kiss on the background screen. "I don't know. You look like you're doing the foot pop."

"It's a lie!" Joey said this with a mirthful smile, but inside he wanted to get up and punch the background down. "A bunch of kids pushed me, and I was trying not fall, and Yugi just happened to be in front of me."

"So this kiss was an accident?"

"Yes! Absolutely." Joey then pointed to his friend. "Besides, Yugi here is straight. Right Yug?"

"U-uh, yeah." He looked down with his hand scratching the back of his head. "I like girls. No-not that I have anything against guys! I just prefer girls. That's all." His whole face went red. He felt even more embarrassed for blushing so hardcore. Joey just grinned at him.

The hostess gave a sympathetic yet also giddy smile. "And you Wheeler? Are you really gay?"

"Yup! I kinda knew since I was kid, but I acted straight since it was what I thought I was supposed to do. But when I came around the age of datin' and whatnot, I realized I didn't want to date a girl at all."

"And you wanted to date guys?"

"Heck yeah! My first crush was Alexir De Gon." Joey wished he hadn't just said that on live television, but then he doubted it would cause any significant changes.

"The womanizer? But he only likes girls."

"Yeah. I had to sneak into a party as one just so I can talk to him."

"So that's what initially started this trend for you?"

"I guess so. But if you seen my blog, you'd know that I did it because a certain CEO of kaiba corp. said that I did not look hot in drag. So I did it just so I could prove him wrong."

"And how has that been working out for you?"

"He's...stubborn. I know he knows I'm hot, but he won't admit it."

"And what if he does admit that you look good in drag?"

"I guess I'd still be cross dressing since it's kinda my thing that people know me for now. Hell, I beat up gangs in the city just so I could cross dress!"

"Right." The woman leaned forward with her own questions. Completely forgetting that the king of games existed. Joey did have the characteristics of a star. "We've seen the video of you fight a bunch of gangs who jumped you not only on your way to school and home but also to work and just trying to hang out with your friends."

"Well, what can you do when you're cornered just fer doin' what ya wanna do? I'm not the only one whose been jumped for tryin' to do my thing. I've met others who've been abused, too."

"Though focusing on you," since this was an interview of Joey, himself, "Was it hard? Of course it was hard, but what other challenges did you have to face for starting to cross dress."

Joey thought back all the way to somewhere around August or September when all the shit started happening. "Uhm, I guess that even if I was just dressing up for fun, I was being jumped by gangs. I got beaten up by my own dad, so I left and struggled to balance work, school and the fights. I almost lost my friends because they wanted me to stop. But that's all in the past, but then recently my mom doesn't want me to see my little sister again. She thinks that I'd be a bad influence on her."

The blond swallowed the lump on his throat. Yugi placed a hand on his. The two friends smiled at each other and held each others hands.

The hostess gave a sympathetic smile. "I guess its time that we hit a commercial break." She smiled at the camera. "Stay tune for we are going to continue our interview with the two highly esteemed duelists, Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler."

The hostess got up, gave her condolence for all the trouble Joey had gone through, and then walked away to freshen up.

Yugi then told his friend, "You didn't tell me that your mother didn't want to see your sister again."

Joey sighed, "I'm sorry, Yug'. Just like back on Duelist Kingdom, I couldn't tell you about the operation until after our lives were in danger and your Exodia card were gone. It was hard to talk about, but I got better and I figured that Serenity is going to be an adult someday so we won't stop seeing each other forever." He excitedly smiled, "And when that happens, I'm gonna shower her with everything I got by bringing her to movie sets so she can meet her favorite actors. Take her to fancy restaurants, a cruise and when she finds the right guy, I'll pay for her wedding!" He whispered, "I already have over fifty thousand in the bank to make sure of that!"

"That's amazing Joey! Can I be invited?"

"Of course! It's going to be beautiful. A garden wedding with doves taking off to the sky after the kiss! She told me that's how she wants it! And I will make sure my sister gets the best wedding dress!" Joey didn't want his little sister to get married, but he can't control whoever she fell in love with. But he can control of how that guy treats her. The moment he hears his sister cry, he's gonna beat the crap out of him!

Then the hostess returned and they were on live again with cue cards. "Welcome back, and here we have Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler. So there are some questions that I will ask of you two separately and together. First off, Mr. Muto. Is there someone you're interested in at the moment since you and Mr. Wheeler are not an item?"

Yugi's cheeks tinted pink. "Y-yes. I do. But I don't want to tell of who it is. She's a close friend of mine." Joey grinned at him with wiggled eyebrows. The king punched his arm lightly.

"Mr. Wheeler, a fan would like to know if that was your first kiss? Ooooh."

Both duelists blushed. "Ugh, yes. It's both of first kiss actually." There was cheering and whooping from the audience. "No! No clapping! That kiss doesn't count since it was an accident! Though I'm glad it was Yugi and not some sleazy guy I'm gonna break up with in a few weeks or so."

The hostess continued, "And now another fan wants to know of how you two became friends."

"Oh god." Joey looked down at Yugi as the two reminisced the past together. "Well, it was during Freshmen year. And believe it or not, I was his bully."

"Bully?" The hostess was surprised.

Yugi clarified, "Joey was trying to teach me how to be a man."

"This guy was a serious recluse. He would rather be alone on his desk playing games instead of going out to play basketball with the others. The poor guy was bound to be picked on mercilessly. At least I didn't give him swirlies or wedgies. All I did was tease him and push him to fight me to get back his things."

"But I hated fighting and violence, and still do. But it all changed when our school's disciplinary committee leader, Ushio, extorted me for money when he thought I wanted him to take care of Joey. But I didn't want that. He did it any way and claimed that I owed him money. I tried to reason that I didn't, but he thought that I meant he didn't do a good enough job. I told him to stop and prevented him to hurt Joey anymore."

Joey ecstaitcally ruffled his hair. "The little guy had more fire in him than I thought! That damn jerk was expelled for hurting the little guy. Hey Yugi, remember the riddle I told you."

"Of course, Joey! It was how I knew that we became friends."

"What riddle?" the hostess asked, intrigued.

Joey answered, "It's kinda embarrassin' but it goes like this, 'My treasure is in plain view, but you can't see it, so I can't show it to you.'!"

"And what's that?" Everyone in the room tried to rack up an answer.

The blond grinned, "It's 'friendship', but what's more cool is when you put it in Japanese cuz you see it's Yujo."

"It's like a mixture of the first two letters of our first names." Yugi supplied. The two smiled at each other with such loving affection. The blond felt embarrassed that he couldn't help head locking the tri-colored haired teen.

"Are you sure, you two aren't dating?" The hostess needed reconfirmation because these two are getting a little too buddy-buddy.

Joey replied, "Yeah."

"So you two haven't considered it with going on dates and telling each other I love you?"

Yugi answered, "We already said I love you to each other as friends."

"And we always hang out with the other guys when we go out, except for that one time everyone else was busy and the restaurants lights went out so they had to light up the candles, and we were eating spaghetti since it was an Italian restaurant with a serenading band...oh god, have we been dating without knowing it?" Joey was just joking, and the two tried not to laugh out loud. "Damn, that kiss was bound to happen, but no, we're just friends."

"Friends?"

"Yes."

"Really."

"O...kay." The hostess looked to the audience who chuckled or giggled. "Now questions from the audience!"

One stood up. "This is a question for Joey. There are rumors that you are putting your dad in a rehab center that you paid for yourself. I don't understand of how you can help the man who abused you. Why is that exactly?"

Joey inwardly sighed, and replied, "It's because he's family who's facing a big problem with addiction. Now that I am able to pay for the help, he can change for the better."

"So you got famous to help your father?" The woman asked even though she was supposed to ask just one question.

"Yeah. That was the sole purpose that I decided to become an actor just like me getting into getting dueling tournaments because of my little sister, Serenity, who I hope can see me now because the surgery was such a success." He smiled proudly. There was a quiet respectful applause for him.

Then another stood up, "Another question for Joey. How far do you plan on taking your acting career, and dungeon dice monsters master title?"

"I guess until my thirties or longer because my dream is to own my own restaurant someday. And for my Dungeon dice monsters title, I guess until someone can take that title from me on an upcoming tournament this July at Germany."

"Germany?" Yugi looked at his friend in surprise. How many things did he not know.

"Yeah. Duke, the creator of Dungeon dice monsters wants to take the tournaments world wide to all the six continents from Asia to Australia."

The hostess asked, "And if you lose your title, what happens?"

"I'd still be traveling since I am considered a star in another aspect. Who doesn't want to see this smile?" Joey pulled his super star smile that dazzled a majority of people in the crowd.

More questions were asked, and then the interview ended. The two of them snuck out the back door to get away from the paparazzi waiting outside. They drove over to Duke's place where everyone was meeting up at the living room sitting on the couches with snacks and soon to watch a movie together.

"Hey, why wasn't I talked about?" Tristan complained. "What am I? Chop liver?"

Duke glared at him, "At this point, you should be. Now that the news that I'm bi -or so I hope there won't be some stupid debate over it- and dating a nobody like you, I have to try and get my stockholders under control!" His brunet boyfriend pouted.

Tea grimaced, "I can't believe of who is gay or bi is still considered a bad thing in the business world."

"Luckily none of us are seriously religious." Ryou pointed out. They did have their different religious beliefs of the after life, yet they never let such beliefs get in the way of their friendship. "And I'm sorry to hear that your mother won't let you see your little sister."

Tristan perked up at that. "Me too, man. I'm sorry to hear it."

Joey let his eyes closed a bit to control the anguish inside him, and then opened them. "It's okay, guys. Serenity is going to be an adult in a few years, and my mom won't be able to stop her then."

"Joey..." Tea knew it was hard on Joey to not be around Serenity for six years and now they can't again for another two years.

Then the blond grinned at them, "And when that happens, I'm gonna spoil her rotten and pay for anything she'll need from college and maybe even her wedding! And it's a load off knowing you two," He pointed at the couple, "are dating!"

Tristan glared softly at the joking blond and then looked to his green-eyed sexy boyfriend with a pleading puppy look. Duke gave him the cold shoulder.

The gang decided to watch a movie before Joey had to go to his acting classes.

._._._.

Mokuba had been watching the interview with his girlfriend, Noe at her house with popcorn and chips with salsa. The black haired teen had some trouble watching when his awesomely cute girlfriend had her arms wrapped around his arm and her head was lying on his shoulder. Her hair smelled like honey and flowers.

"That's stupid. Who would protect and become friends with their own bully. That guy has problems." Noe commented on Yugi's choices.

Mokuba tried to reason, "Well, like Yugi said, Joey was just trying to buff him up or somethin' so he won't get seriously picked at by bigger bullies like that Ushio character."

"Hmph. If you'd ask me, I'd just leave anyone who dared try to mess with me in my dust, and forget their existence."

"Isn't that a bit cruel?"

"It's to be expected, and if you can't uphold it, then you got what you asked for." Noe sternly put out. "But I really like the riddle. The whole it's invisible but it's there. I wonder if we could make a word out of our first names."

"There are a lot of Japanese words out there. We can certainly find something we can make out of our names."

"Great! You can search for a name for us!"

"Me?!"

"Don't worry! You'll have a lot of time! Consider it as you trying to find my birthday gift. It's on August 18 (headcanon) so you got plenty of time til then! Have fun!" Mokuba was about to object, but then he got a kiss on the cheek. His entire face glowed hot pink and then his nose gushed out blood. Noe screamed; her uncle burst through the door and slipped down, and knocked out upon impact against a table.

Noe called for the ambulance. And so, that was how Seto and Noe got to meet for the first time. In the waiting room while blood was being pumped back into Mokuba and her uncle was having his head stitched and bandaged.

The two sat opposite of each other. Seto with his legs crossed elegantly and arms crossed. Noe sat down with her forearms laid out on the armrests, and her legs were closed.

"Would you like to explain of how my little brother loss an indisputable amount of blood, and your _uncle_ had cracked his head?" He questioned crossly.

Noe was not intimidated by him. "Your brother happened to have gushed out his own blood out of his nose just because I kissed his cheek. I screamed, and my uncle clumsily tried to come to my rescue." She exasperatedly sighed, "However, he slipped and and cracked his head against the table."

Seto did not like that she didn't fear him, but it may be considered a good trait, so she wasn't easily intimidated by other men like a stereotypical useless damsel in distress. Though Kaiba was seriously disappointed in his little brother. "I don't see how a single kiss on a cheek could have made his nose bleed."

Noe shrugged her shoulders. "Don't look at me. This is my first time to have a boyfriend, so I thought that what happened was considered to be normal in real life situations instead of what media portray relationships to be." She narrowed her eyes at the older man. "And I have this feeling that you are not fond of me."

"Why should I be? I don't even know you."

"The same for me, but the way you are glaring at me is far beyond neutral dislike for me. You know, I have been having this feeling that Mokuba is hiding something from me because I noticed the way he looked at me is different. I can't tell if it's a good or bad way, but it takes no genius to know that you must be the source of that."

"What are you trying to get at? Are you implying that I would manipulate my own brother?"

"By how much Mokuba holds you at such high esteem with affection, not at all." Though her own glare did not lighten against the other male. "Yet, I understand that my past is...sketchy. How can a girl from nothing in a poor country come to a sudden shift to this place and be the source of your little brother's current questionable actions? Well the answer is simple." She grinned, "It's fate."

Seto tightened his scowl. This girl was mocking him. "You better watch who you are talking to."

"Or what? Threaten me or get rid of me, either way, your precious brother will not be happy."

"He'll get over it." He snapped.

Noe giggled. "Typical. I am not a fool, and I can see that you aren't as well." She placed her clasped hands on her lap. "So, Mr. Kaiba. What do you wish me to do? Break up with your brother?"

"That depends. Would you break up with my brother if I told you?"

"You have the power to crush me, and I am merely a teenager working to get a high school degree. To let something like puppy love get in the way of my future, then I will discard it easily." The girl pulled out a smiling poker face.

Kaiba thought she was insufferable. Yet, he smirked when he found this to be the perfect way to rid of this intolerable existence from his brother. He could clearly see that this girl was no good for him. She was conceited, annoying and unfaithful to his brother. "Then that is what you are going to do, but you are not allowed to tell my little brother that I put you up to this. That is, if I can trust you."

"Again, I am not a fool. But you will have to give me a week because your little brother will think that it was because of what just happened tonight to be the reason." She slyly smirked as she pulled out her hand, "Do we have an agreement?"

Seto didn't hesitate to shake her hand.

And so a week later, Noe broke up with him during a date at Kaiba land. She did it in the ferris wheel where no one could hear them.

The female looked over at him and then sighed. Mokuba asked in concern, "What's wrong?"

Noe looked at him with a bored expression. "I've...been thinking." She sighed again, "I think we should break up."

Mokuba froze. A part of his reality cracked. He tried to ask all the questions that were running through his head but the voices muffled into a white noise.

His becoming ex-girlfriend explained, "It's just that...I thought I would start liking you, but I don't. And after meeting your older brother, I really don't feel like it's worth going through all this trouble."

"Bu-but we can change that! You don't have to like Seto! I know how hard it can be for anyone to like him, but eventually you two might at least get along!"

"Mokuba." She snapped. "Stop. It's over."

"Noe, please. I can change!" The pre-teen desperately said. He loved her! Screw how young he was! He knew he wanted to continue spending time with her! And break ups usually, if not always, ruined that!

The green haired girl retorted, "But I don't know what I want, and I won't be able to figure that out if we date, so sorry, it's over." The ferriswheel ride stopped.

"Noe-"

"Over." She quipped and then walked away.

Mokuba sat their stunned by the cold rejection. It suddenly became hard to breathe and his heart beated painfully as if a talon was clawing it out. He grasped his shirt tightly to stop the pain. His eyes could not shed a tear. He was too shocked to do so. His employees came over with questions of concern of what was wrong.

He couldn't answer them. Instead he ran out of the amusement park to get away from reality. His security guard followed so he didn't hurt himself. Mokuba didn't know of where he was going, but he didn't care. He just had to run.

Noe went back home with a frown on her face. Her uncle, who was sitting at the dining table with a cup of coacoa in his hand, diverted his eyes from his tablet to her. He frankly asked, "Did you break up with him?"

Noe let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes. Just like how his older brother wanted." She walked passed the table to the living room to set herself down on the couch.

"I don't get it." Her uncle told her. "You don't fear Mr. Kaiba. Why did you agree to break up with Mokuba?" Then pointed out, "You don't look happy that you did."

"That' because I didn't want to, uncle." She said harshly through her gritted teeth. She relaxed herself from her anger as sadness descended on her form. "But I had to." She confessed. "Now that I know the truth of who I am with my memories finally restored, I can't see him again."

"That's ridiculous." Her uncle placed his cup on the table, before he got up to set down next to his niece. His eyes on her. "You're Noe Kaima, now."

"No." She looked him in the eyes. "I am Noah Kaiba. The biological son of Gozaburo and Jezebel Kaiba. And the step-brother of Seto and Mokuba Kaiba. At the age of twelve, I was struck by a careless car driver who was rushing to work without the care that her daughter was in the back without her seat belt on. The driver survived, but her daughter and I was left in critical conditions. Her family pulled the plug. I was transferred from that plug to a virtual world where I was left alone for seven years. Seven! And you're not my uncle. You're a scientist I secretly hired to clone my body." Tears overflowed her eyes. "And I wish my memories restored sooner, so I didn't foolishly let myself be loved by him. I don't deserve him." She embraced her legs to cry on her knees.

Her uncle/scientist patted her shoulder consolingly.

._._._.

A/N: Yup! Noe is Noah! But she didn't know that since her memory was fuzzy, but now it's back, and she decided to break up with Mokuba with an added incentive by Seto!

So yeah, during the virtual world arc, Noah did leave a gateway for him to escape through before the explosion. Though it was risky due to having to hold Gozaburo from escape while slowly and steadily moving himself from the world. On the background, he did have a cloned body, though its a female body (Details later in the story), and his own brain patterns were transferred into the body. And the scientist takes care of him while still getting money through illegal yet untraceable means thanks to Noah's genius.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Can...Can I have more reviews please?

._._._.

Duke and Joey were heading to the dice duelist's office to discuss on the upcoming international dice dueling competitions. They had to discuss on how safe the separate locations would be for the cross-dressing duelist since there are some places with people whom are against his choices.

Joey knew that this venture would have not only battlefields at the tournaments by the international media as well.

"So you and Tristan still fighting?" The blond asked as they walked out of the elevator.

Duke growled, "Yes. I told that idiot to keep his mouth shut, and now I'm becoming stressed by-" he opened his door, and both males were blown away by the new decorations in the office, yet Duke was not aware of ordering all of these...flowers! "What the hell?!" He looked to his secretary.

She cleared her throat. "Those are from Mr. Taylor. He bought each and every one of them here, but if you wished to have them removed, he gave me a phone number that will have men immediately come over here within less than half an hour to remove all of them and return your office to the way it was before. Just give me the word."

"Wait, Tristan bought all this." Duke was astounded, and then blushed angrily when he heard Joey trying to stifle his chuckles. He glared at the blond who whistled innocently.

His secretary nodded. "And a message that each of these flowers hold their own message that he searched up online to show these he's sincerely apologetic. But if that's not enough, he carved this." She took out from under her desk a small wooden statue of a man sitting down on a small platform with a head on its knee and arms crossed in front of it. The other leg lazily lying down on the ground. A sight of a devastated man. "It took him a lot of time and mistakes to try and get it to at least look a bit decent."

Joey inspected it closely, and then picked it up to see a carving that stated, "I'm sorry". He showed it to Duke who frowned at the message. The CEO looked back into his room to see the room filled with begonias (deep thoughts), daffodils (chivalry), pansies (loving thoughts), pink carnations (gratitude), different colored roses (admiration, appreciation, passionate love, unity, purity, and friendship) and tulips (carying, royalty, declaration of love, hopelessly in love, and faithfulness). Yet the one flower that filled the room the most was the white tulip that was arranged into the shape of a heart in the middle of the office (forgiveness).

Duke burst out laughing. "Oh god, he's corny!"

Joey shook his head as he contained his laughter. "This is so Tristan. He is Romeo. You should've seen all the stupid stuff he let himself do for his past crushes, but this," He snickered with a stupid grin, "This tops it all!" He looked over at the laughing male. "So what're ya gonna do with these?"

Duke gasped mouthfulls of air before he responded, "I'll keep them. The place did need more plant life, and I can finally give a cousin of mine a job to water them. Maybe I should make a green house in this place." He was half-joking since the idea did sound good. "And I guess I can accept Tristan's apology because who knows what he might do next."

"Have a plane write out in the sky that he's sorry?" The two of them laughed, but then it slowly died to the reality that Tristan would do such a thing. "You should."

"Yeah, I should. I'll text him to meet me at a restaurant of my choosing, and if all things go well, we'll head back to my place."

"Ew! Too much info, man!"

Duke smirked, "What? It's obvious that we'd be doing it."

"Yeah, but I don't want to hear about it."

"But I wanna gloat to someone cuz damn! I had no idea Tristan could be that thick. It's not that long but it's long enough to reach my best friend."

"EW! STOP! STOP!"

"And he's rough and gentle at the same time. I mean when he's fucking me hard doggy style against the bed, you can seriously hear the-"

"LALALALALALA!" Joey had his ears covered and jumping around frantically.

"bed's headboard hitting against the wall, but his kiss and handles are gentle. And he makes it his mission to make me feel good and touching each and every part of me until I'm a writhing screaming mess in my own home!"

"Seriously! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Y'know there are different types of sex. Make up sex. Vanilla sex. S&M sex. But my favorite is angry sex. Tristan grunts in bed, but when he's angry, he says the dirtiest nastiest things in my ears. And it's not that hard to do because he's an angry drunk. Not a violent one which makes it just perfect. Maybe I should have us drunk alcohol, but not in public obviously. I do have some beers or maybe wine at my place."

"Duke!"

"What?" The green eyed teen chuckled.

Joey glared at him. His face heated and red. It was so cute teasing him! "Shut UUUUUP!" He wailed childishly.

Duke's smirk widened, "Oh please, Joey, at least my fanbase doesn't exploit me like you and Yugi! The Yujo (wishshipping) shippers!"

Joey's face became steam. "But we're not that in real life!"

"Or the one with Seto Kaiba. Or the one with me! I'm starting to regret putting you into that dog suit cuz now everyone thinks I have a dog fetish or something if I were to be dating you." Duke snorted.

Joey squinted his eyes at him with his fists at his sides. "At least I'm not the one wearing too much eyeliner that I'm not surprised if people began wondering who is the real girl here."

"Hmph. You're just jealous that I can pull off this look."

"Oh hell no!" Joey jumped him. It was a scuffle but more of friendly wrestling as they ruined some of the flowers in the office.

._._._.

Kaiba sighed. He was becoming irritated because not only was there a bothersome hacker and traitor in his company along with irritating business meetings that was more about marriage than the actual topic to discuss at hand, but his own little brother refused to go to school! Just because of a stupid break up!

The brunet wanted to set his brother straight, so he knocked on his bedroom door. He heard nothing, so he just opened it to find his brother looking lifeless on his bed. "Mokuba. Why did you not go to school, today? Roland told me that you were not sick, and you didn't bother to use your free time to do anything but lie here. Only getting up when you need to use the restroom. You barely even touched your breakfast this morning."

Mokube rolled over onto his side away from his brother. "I didn't feel like it."

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried not to blow a casket by his brother's rude behavior. "Mokuba, you've only dated that girl for a few months, and despite her talents in games, she wasn't right for you." There was no response. "Mokuba." He said in an ordering tone. "Just get over it, and return back to school tomorrow. No excuses. You'll see that you were moping for nothing." The blue-eyed busy man looked at his wrist watch. He had to get back to work. "We'll talk again later. I expect you to eat your lunch, and finish at least half of your meal if you do not feel hungry." He walked out of the room. He was sure Mokuba was a reasonable person like him and just needed to be bought back to reality, so he left with no worries.

But that wasn't exactly the truth. The black haired teen did do as he was told to eat at least half of his lunch, but he didn't do it with any satisfaction. He just did it so his older brother wouldn't have to bother him again about these tedious things. He was going to school tomorrow, but not as his usual self. His heart ached at the thought of seeing Noe again.

Yet, on the next day, he saw the her desk was empty, and his friends told him that she moved away. Mokuba immediately came to the conclusion that she left because of him. Breathing got even harder to do as he felt his heart crushed. He held in his tears until he went to his mansion and cry into his pillow. He was allowed to cry if he was alone. Screw bottling up like a stupid guy!

The black haired teen felt so alone. No one would understand him. No one could be able to make him better. He felt so lonely that he began questioning of what was the point of going on when now he realized that he was going to suffer a pain alone.

"Mokuba?" He heard a familiar male voice. He turned his head as the door opened and in came Joey in his female clothes holding a game case in hand. The cross dresser's amber eyes widened when he saw the tear streaked face on his friend.

Mokuba immediately looked to the opposite side and pointed at where his TV was. "Just put it over there." he proudly said in a normal voice. Though it pained him that his mouth dared make him deceitful.

But Joey wasn't fooled. "Mokuba, who hurt you?"

Mokuba sniffed in his wet snot, and let out a shaky breath. He sobbed, "No one." Joey walked over to the side he was looking. "Don't look!" He cried out as he turned his head.

"I won't, but you're gonna tell me who the hell bullied you cuz I'm gonna kick their asses. C'mere." He pulled Mokuba. The pre-teen struggled away, but he was forced into a hug and a caring rub on the back. The older male told him comfortingly, "It's okay. Everything is okay."

The teen wrapped his arms around the lithe frame and cried his heart out against his chest. Joey hugged him and caressed his head. He cooed, "That's it. Let it all out."

"I shouldn't be crying." He sobbed as his face began to hurt as pressure build in his face. His eyes stinging and red.

"Don't say that. It's okay for a man to cry. God knows how many times I cry at night when no one is around. You can't keep it in, Mokuba. Someday, you'll burst and hurt the wrong people. Most importantly, yourself."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's none of yer fault. Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll help in any way I can cuz you're important to me Mokuba. Your one of my closest and dearest friends. One of the best friends that anyone could ever have."

Mokuba felt like he could believe him, but doubt was still in him. "Noe broke up with me." He confessed. "She said I was boring."

Joey softly gasped. "That son of a bitch."

"She even moved away, and I can't help thinking that it was because of me."

"You shouldn't think that way." The blond didn't make it sound like Mokuba was being silly. "And who cares if she moved away. That just makes it easier for you to move on, so you don't have to see her face again."

"But-"

"No buts!" He butt in. "She dumps you, you forget her! I never been in a relationship, but I know other people who have, and the first stages of break ups aren't easy. They usually end up with them getting back together but breaking up again, and it happens again and again until someone goes away to somewhere else. So you are lucky Mokuba. You don't have to go through that mess. And if she wants you, she'll come back and it's up to you to decide if you want to. But before that, you gotta realize the perks of being single!"

"What perks?"

Joey thought for a second. "You don't have to face any jealous wraths. You get to do whatever disgusting things you want to do! Ooh! You don't have to have her dictate who your friends are! There's a whole lotta perks! You don't realize how free you really are until now! So let's celebrate by having fun! First! A tub of icecream and the latest comedy movie! It'll have you laughing in seconds! I'll tell the maids to bring some!" Joey jumped up for the door.

"Don't you have work?"

"Nope! I'm free for the rest of the day and figured that we could play video games together since everyone else is busy with their own lives! See! If I didn't have you, I would've been bored and lonely out of my mind for the rest of the day!" He grinned before exiting to find a maid.

Mokuba couldn't help but smile. It wasn't going to be easy to forget Noe since games was what bought them together, and he works at a game company. But he guessed that it was better than moping.

And so they ate junk food while playing games together where they talked about anything from how well Mokuba was doing searching for the dragon toys, and how Joey's career was going. And then Joey's cell phone rang. "It's Kiyoko." He arranged his cell phone on his shoulder so they could continue their fighting game. "What's up?...Oh yeah, I forgot. But can we cancel today...I know it's math, but I can't make it today...Don't be like that." Joey pouted cutely with hopeful eyes that the woman on the other line could at least feel the cute sincerity in him. "Thanks Kiyoko!" He hung up and put his phone on the floor.

Mokuba curiously asked, "What was that about?"

"Kiyoko reminded me that I have a tutor session soon, but I cancelled. Nothin' important."

"But you said it was math. Don't you suck?" The kid didn't mean to sound insensitive but Joey really sucked at that subject.

"Geeze, thanks." Joey poured out his sarcasm. "It's okay. I've been ditching math homework since. Ditchin' another won't hurt."

"I can help you. I'm really good at math."

"What about our game? I'm about to kick yer butt!" Joey tried to go for a punch, but then Mokuba pulled a triple combo and won.

The black haired pre-teen snickered. "I think homework will be better."

Joey gave him a playful glare, and then shoved him to the side. "You snotty brat! Fine! But my homework is at my place."

"That's okay. I can go. I think it'd be good for me if I went out anyway."

Joey smiled down at him for Mokuba wanting to get out of his break up. "Sure you don't have to tell your brother first?"

"Our butler can inform him. Let's go."

And so, Joey and Mokuba went to his house. The pre-teen helped teach him how to do his geometry homework. He used building blocks that the blond had as toys to explain since the blond was a hands on visual learner.

"Ha! I got it correct on my own!" The actor theatrically sniffed. "I nevah thought I'd see the day!"

Mokuba grinned. "See. It's easier than you think. You just gotta figure out your own stuff."

Joey couldn't stop himself from head locking the pre-teen. "And it's all thanks to you squirt!"

"Hey!" Mokuba struggled out of his grip. It was really uncomfortable. He wondered how Yugi got used to them.

"Sorry." The blond let him go. His eyes twinkling at him. "But really, thank you, Mokuba." He gave a warm appreciating smile. Mokuba blushed as he began to see a pink sparkling background behind the pretty male. Flowers popped in random directions around that beauty's face. "It's great to have a friend as smart as you but not a total sleazebag, too!"

"Uh, y-yeah." He gulped. "If you thinks so, then maybe I-I could help you with your homework from now on since you're almost graduating."

Mokuba thought, _What's wrong with me? Why is my heart pounding and my cheeks getting flushed. I haven't felt this way since I dated Noe. I know Joey's a guy, but you gotta admit that he looks pretty good dressed up as either of them. Wait! What am I thinking?! I don't like Joey like that! I even called him my mom! But that was just an accident, and Joey's not my mom, but my best friend. My single (as in not dating) best friend. It...wouldn't be weird. We're only five years apart. It's legal as long as we don't fornicate...No!_

It didn't help when Joey continued to grin in a loving fashion at him. "Really, Mokuba? But what about your homework and you're job as the vice president of Kaiba corp?"

"It's okay." The pre-teen scratched the back of his head as he looked away to the floor that was particularly interesting right now. "Homework's a no-brainer for a Kaiba like me, and the same goes for my work at Kaiba corp. And you're important to me, too, Joey." He couldn't help blushing brighter at saying that.

Though the blond thought he was simply being shy with being buddy-buddy with him. "If it's really no bother to you, then thanks a whole bunch, Mokuba! I'll warn you beforehand if I need any help at all! I gotta do these problems myself y'know if I'm gonna actually learn anything!"

"No problem." Mokuba forced himself to smile at him directly. They weren't that far from height. They were only three inches apart. He was five-five while Joey was five-eight. He still had his growth spurt to look forward to, so he knew he'd be tall and handsome enough soon for him. That is...if they could...

._._._.

Seto sighed as he was satisfied that Mokuba was in a chipper mood, and was going to school with that attitude. But he couldn't say the same for his work. The hacking situation was getting tedious to take care of because as soon as he stopped one problem, another one happens, and it's mostly up to his genius brain to fix this. It had not only bother him at work, but also at night since his watch would alert him of a hacker attack. He hadn't had a good night sleep since.

He had decided to not bother going to school, so he could work on his corporation's cyber security to stop other potential hacking problems.

The days of absence made Joey worried since Mokuba told him that Seto wasn't on any business trips, and wouldn't tell him of what's happening since it was confidential. He stared at the empty seat with a forlorn expression. No one noticed except for Yugi and Ryou.

The two previous Egyptian item holders looked at each other with knowing soft smiles that Joey was concerned about the blue-eyed CEO.

Joey inwardly sighed, and then looked down at his blank notebook. He looked up at the blue sky outside of the window. The blueness being too dull to remind him of the teenager's eyes. His poetic side was opening up within in, and he began writing:

_Blue, blue is the color I look to to remember your eyes_

_The biggest source of blue is the skies_

_ Yet, despite being famous for its tranquility_

_My heart was not eased _

_Not even staring at the sparkling ocean or facing a stormy sea would make me reminisce those beautiful cruel orbs_

_I would have to fly to space on Apollo, and then look back to see the Earth, and then shall I be absorbed._

_Sucked into familiarity of your eyes that houses complicated, and intricate, solid ideas that are being sedimented by the rushing river of emotions that slowly scrape away at you. Life dying and living again and again in a cycle in your eyes. A part of me want to burn them while another part of me wants to shine light upon them._

_May I be your sun that helps gives you life, or am I a rushing comet doomed to destroy you if I dare direct myself towards you. Will you stay around me, or will I just pass you and we will never see each other again unless space decided to be kind to let me see you again in person for a few short more moments again._

"What are you writing, Joey?" Yugi asked since it was break time. Joey was too engrossed to realize that the bell had rung.

The blond blushed as he saw his friends crowding around him. "Nothin'!" He quickly covered it with hi upper body and arms.

Duke snorted. "it looks like someone here has a crush on someone with blue eyes!" The dice duelist said this on purpose for the other girls to hear who shipped him with the actor.

Joey barked at him. "Shut up! I do not! I was just in the mood to write! Ever heard of a poetic soul! No cuz you don't have one!" His friends only tried to stifle their giggles and chuckles with grins. He growled, "I hate all of you."

"So it is true!" A girl cried out from the class door. "You're in love with Seto Kaiba!"

"WHAT?!" Joey cried out. "No I'm not! How many times do I have to tell you idiots?!"

"But he's the only one in this class who has blue eyes!"

"Oh please! I have tons of friends with blue eyes!"

"Oh really! Name one! And you better have a picture of him for proof!"

"Nnnggggh!" Joey panicked as he took out his phone to look at his pictures for guys with blue eyes. And the girl was right! He had tons of friends, but a majority of them had brown or purple eyes. A few with green, yet the ones with blue eyes weren't exactly who he would ever consider liking at all. And then his eyes landed on one person. He prayed he wouldn't mind. "Ha! Here he is!"

He showed the picture. Almost everyone in class huddled up together to see the picture. His own friends were shocked. "VALON?!"

"Yes! He's my current crush!"

"Oh god, he's dreamy!" The girls cried out and continued talking about how hot he was.

The girl who accused him gave him a critical eye. "Is he even real?"

"Yes!"

"Prove it! That could just be a model for all I know!"

_Dammit this bitch! _Joey hid his harsh thoughts with a self-assuring smile. "He's not! And I can prove it! I have his cellphone number, and he'll tell you that we're long time friends!" He looked for his phone number and called with the phone being on speaker. Luckily, Valon was answered.

"'Ello!" The Aussie said with his cute accent. Joey always did thought it was cute after Valon dropped trying to take Mai away from him for some evil plot.

"Hey Valon! It's me! How have you been, man?" He stuck a tongue out at the girl.

"Joey?! Is that you?! 'Ey mate! I've been seein' you on TV and magazines almost anywhere I go! Are you seriously cross dressin'?! I asked Mai, and she told me the story! I gotta say that I'm kinda jealous that you'd dress up for such a bloke. And then kissin' the king of games!"

Joey gave a big grin to the girl who glared harshly at him. "But you saw the live broadcast that that was a misunderstandin' right?"

"Sure! Hard not to when duelist from around the world were watching it. What are you doing now?"

"I'm at school. Where are you?"

"Venice, and must I say it's quite the view. Maybe, now that your famous, we could go to the Globe and watch one of that guy, Shakespeare's plays."

Joey found that interesting. "I didn't know you were into Shakespeare."

"Did you think I'm some meat head dipstick? I happen to like a lot of literature and plays. My fave's is the Merchant from Venice."

"Oh really? That's my favorite, too." Joey felt a blush creep up on his face.

"No kidding. Then I guess we could have a date set. Heard you were going to travel around the world during July." And then Valon ended it with a teasing seductive tone. "I hope you won't be too busy for a good time." He stifled his snickers because he expected the blond to yell at him, but to his surprise, it was someone else.

"Good time?!" Tristan yelled.

"Who was that?" Valon questioned, not knowing that someone else was listening into their conversation.

"No one!" Joey snapped and glared at Tristan as the school bell rang. He quickly told the blue-eyed biker hottie on the other end, "Venice? Sure! Just let me talk to Duke about that! Bye!"

"Wai-" Joey hung up. He then said haughtily, "See! We're friends! We even have a date set!" he looked at Duke. "Right, Duke?"

The green-eyed taken teen thought about it. "Considering your schedule, we'll arrive at Venice during November, and you'll have a week to sight see like the rest of the place. So sure. Why not." he then added teasingly, "Just don't go crazy and elope, alright."

Joey blushed hotly. "Do-Don't be stupid!"

Tea sighed inwardly. "You do realize that you confessing that you like Valon is going to go viral right?"

The blond's eyes widened in horror. "NOOO!" He had one foot on his desk, and the other on his chair. His finger pointing indignantly and swinging to everyone. "ALL OF YOU WHO HEARD, DON'T YOU DARE TELL THE MEDIA ABOUT THIS CUZ IF YOU DO I'LL-"

Tristan didn't want his friend to be charged for vicious threats, so pulled him down. "That's enough out of you, and don't bother. The damage is already done. And if it does, you can just explain yourself to Valon."

His friends gave him apologetic smiles which weren't so self-assuring, but Tristan was right. He should explain himself to Valon.

._._._.

Mokuba looked down at the newest teen magazine for March to see that Joey had a crush on biker guy named Valon. "Oh, Joey has a crush on Valon. Isn't he the guy that used to be one of Dartz's goons?" He asked Seto frankly. It masked how upset he really was about the news. The two were driving to a building to tests their new projects.

Mokuba knows the name Valon, but he was sure he actually never met the guy. Joey had the freedom to like whoever he wanted, but the problem was that Mokuba knew that the lists of people Joey could crush on would never add him. He felt a possessive part of him want to take Joey and make him forget this Valon guy!

Seto felt the same. Although in a more vicious sense. He would not only take Joey to forget the man, but to also make sure the man's existence was to never be found. He masked his own voice as well to his little brother, "Who cares."

"Yeah," Mokuba glared at the article before pointing out, "but you gotta admit that Valon's pretty lucky to have someone like Joey like him a lot."

"Hmph. There's nothing to feel lucky about to date a second rate duelist like Wheeler. All you get is an annoying dog who doesn't know when to stop barking." Seto smirked by his retort.

However his brother wasn't going to let him smirk for long. "Maybe if you didn't insult him every time you talked to each other, or use a better tone with him, he wouldn't be yelling at you." The pre-teen matter-of-factly pointed out.

"It's him who needs to know his place!" Seto sounded demanding like a king, but Mokuba knew he was just being childish.

"Whatever you say, Seto. But with Joey, you have someone who'll make you good food on dates. He's also really loyal, kind, funny, supportive, selfless and pretty handsome and pretty too. Especially his legs."

Seto rose an inquisitive eyebrow. He acknowledged those legs far longer than Mokuba had to this day. "What are you getting at Mokuba?" he narrowed his eyes at him.

"Nothing." Mokuba played off innocently. "Just that Joey may not be all that bright, but if you look past that, you begin to realize he has a lot of good qualities. And if he dates Valon, then I'm sure that he'd do anything to make Valon happy, but also know when he's being taken advantage of since he's been taken advantage by his dad with having been the one earning the money and all."

Seto looked out the window. He knew Joey was not perfect, but he can't deny that what Mokuba said was true. Valon would be lucky.

Both Mokuba and Seto pondered on Joey's love life.

._._._.

"A lie?" Mokuba's eyes brightened when Joey told him during their tutoring session together. The planned ball was happening next week on the end of March, so Joey was looking through dresses on the internet while Mokuba was checking on his math homework. They were seated at a table in the library of the Kaiba mansion.

"Yeah. One of Kaiba's fan club girls accused me of liking your brother, so I used Valon as an excuse. I told Valon, and he laughed at me! Even Mai called me up and laughed at me when I told her the truth!" Joey groaned at his misfortune. Though Kiyoko thought it was a good thing since it made his sexuality more real than questionable to the public. Not that he cared, but at least he was getting more publicity.

Mokuba ignored his complaints, and focused on the more interesting part of the reply. He asked bluntly, "So do you like Seto?"

Joey was surprised by the question, and he didn't allow himself to look at the indigo-eyed kid next to him. He could lie, but then it'd be nice to tell someone. It would be better to tell someone like Yugi, but then he never had an opportunity where the information would come out so randomly as if he was desperate for someone to either encourage or slap him out of his crush.

And Mokuba may be close to Seto, but the black-haired pre-teen wouldn't actually tattle on him. "Do you mean like or like like?" He tested the waters out first.

"Like like." Mokuba watched him intently, and the actor could feel it.

"Uhm..." Joey blushed. "Do you really want me to tell you that I like your brother? That is if I do?!"

That practically sounded like an answer, but Mokuba wanted to be sure. "I know it's none of my business, and I won't tell Seto if you do, but I'd like to know if you do."

"And why would you like to know?" Joey finally looked at him with a suspicious, questioning, rose eyebrow.

Mokuba smiled at him. "I'd just like to know." _Of who my competition is._ "It's exciting to know if someone likes someone."

Joey gave a few more questioning looks before he sighed. "Okay fine!" he whined! "I like your brother!" he crossed his arms defensively. "But not because of his money! Don't you dare line me with fangirls of his!" He thought bitterly about those stupid whores.

Mokuba was unsure of how he was feeling about this confession. He did feel a bit put off that he lost to his brother, but in the same time not surprised and strangely happy to hear that. "Why then? It can't be his personality. You two argue like cats and dogs."

"Well, if your brother didn't have to insult me all the time, we wouldn't be fighting in the first." Joey grumbled. He then sighed as he loosened his arms. "I honestly don't understand of why I like him the way I do, Mokuba. I know tons of guys who are complete assholes, yet I know they have a good side to them. And I've seen them be that good part of themselves. But somehow...it's different with Kaiba..." Joey crossed his arms, and looked down with a critical expression.

"Different how?" Mokuba pushed. He pushed his seat closer to Joey's as he did.

Joey looked up as if an answer was bound to rain down from the ceiling with heavenly light showering upon it. "I...It's just that it started when I wanted to be in love with Alexir De Gon, but I just couldn't. It was the same for Mai at some point when I was trying to figure out if I'm straight, gay or bisexual, but I wasn't. I couldn't fall in love with her. But then when I saw your brother for the first time I decided to open my heart to the idea of falling in love..." His amber eyes lowered to the side. "I did."

There was a moment to let the information sink in. Joey began to continue, but then he was stopped by a pair of lips on his own. His eyes widened when in his vision he could see a slightly dark tan skin and black hair in front of him while a pair of lips were pressed firmly against his own. The truth froze him in place, and then Mokuba retracted with a curious expression. Joey wasn't sure of what expression he could pull except bewilderment.

Mokuba's curious expression changed into an understanding one that Joey couldn't decipher at the moment. "Hm. Nothing."

Joey stuttered and then exclaimed, "N-Nothing?! Mokuba, what was that?! You just kissed me!"

Mokuba sheepishly smiled. "I'm sorry, but when you were helping me get over my breakup, I couldn't stop myself from falling for you." he scratched the back of his head. Cheeks were rosy, and indigo eyes planted on the floor between them. "But now I understand that I was only emotional vulnerable and needed my feelings to latch onto someone. Sorry for kissing you, Joey."

The blond stared at him for a moment with an expression of contemplation, but then it softened to understanding. He put a friendly hand on the kid's shoulder. "I get it. Jus' don't let it happen again, kid."

"Mmm...But I still want to date you."

"What?!"

"As a rebound girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?!" Joey didn't mind the rebound part because that meant Mokuba wasn't actually serious about him.

"Yeah." The kid explained, "I am in a vulnerable state, and I think it'd be nice to have some restraint from just dating anyone out of heartbreak." The smart pre-teen looked up at the young male before him with a cunning smile. "So since you aren't dating anyone, can we go out? Nothing has to change. Just that we can't date anyone unless we have the other's permission, okay?"

Joey considered this. He thought he was out of his mind when he decided to agree, but then it would help him from being careless, too. He may not feel too hurt when he will see Kaiba with the one he was destined for.

Then Mokuba added, "And I won't agree to you dating anyone except my big brother!"

"What?! But Mokuba, he has Kisandra!"

"Her?" Mokuba's brows furrowed in confusion, "She's a nobody!"

"She is right now, but she's your brother's soul mate!" Joey admitted to himself that that did sound a bit silly but it was true!

And Mokuba somewhat believed him, "How do you know that?"

Joey mentally sighed in relief, and then explained, "Do you remember the story of what happened before pharaoh had to leave?"

"The one where evil Bakura tried to change the past."

"Yeah, and there was this girl named Kisara who priest Seth, your brother's past incarnation, was in love with."

Mokuba shrugged impassively at the information. "Past love. Now love. What does it matter?"

"What matters is that there might be some sort of..." Joey blinked for the answer. "Consolation to them finally being together. Yeah. Plus, she's pretty much the reason that Kaiba is obsessed with the blue eyes white dragon. In the story she gave her soul, the blue eyes white dragon, to priest Seth, and now they can finally be together in the flesh!"

"I think you're just making excuses." The pre-teen accused.

Joey knew he wasn't. He believed in soulmates. He honestly retorted, "No. I just want Kaiba to be happy. If I was in love with Mai, but she was destined for Valon, or if it was the other way around, either way, I would want them to be together if they made each other happy. And your brother and I wouldn't last anyway."

"Why?" Mokuba sounded like he was offended. He kinda was since he thought both males were amazing and are meant to be with the best which were each other.

"What do you think?" Joey asked rhetorically. "We don't even know if he's into guys. Plus, he already told you what his type was, and it was no coincidence that Kisandra, who is Kisara's reincarnation, was among the women meant to be his potential wife," And relunctantly yet firmly added, "His soul mate." He winced slightly from the pain in his chest.

Mokuba noticed the sadness in his friend's tone, "Joey..."

Joey quickly mentally shook off his pain, and smiled at the black haired teen. "Hey, if you'd still have me as your **_boy_**friend, it won't matter! And we don't know if the charity gala will be a success!"

"I'm still not convinced. So let's have a bet. If Seto doesn't admits that he actually at least finds Kisandra tolerable and spends at least an hour or more with her, then you will have to make your move before your tour." Joey wanted to reject, but Mokuba added, "Just have a date with both of you knowing that it is an actual romantic date, and if it doesn't go well, then it's over."

"And if he admits he likes Kisandra. Then no date." He felt like he was winning a losing victory for daring to speak such words.

"Yes. So do we got ourselves a deal?"

"Does the deal include us agreeing to date, so we both don't stupidly get ourselves into bad relationships?"

Mokuba grinned. "Yes."

And so they shook hands, but then the sly pre-teen pulled Joey into another kiss to make sure he felt nothing. Joey pushed him off his chair and pointed bashfully at him, "No kissing on the lips or telling anyone about this allowed!" Mokuba laughed, and then agreed with another hesitate handshake.

After the tutoring session, and agreeing to their first date to be during the next one. Joey had a long way to go to the front door that was about fifteen minutes to reach by foot. On his way, he thought about what he just agreed to with Mokuba. They are now dating as a rebound secretly, he confessed to him about his feelings about his older brother, and will break up with each other if that older brother doesn't fall for his soul mate...yeah, Joey couldn't figure out how they did it so casually.

Joey groaned to himself when his mind flooded with the blue-eyed duelist. He tried to shake off the thoughts of possible situations they could be in if they were to date. He didn't want to think of them possibly going to a private beach alone together. A beach where small waves rolled into the shore and leave a bubbly foam that dissolves into the darkening sand as it leaves. The sun would be bright, the blue sky littered with painted clouds, and the wet sand would feel soft as it slowly pulls him down as low as it could take him. Yet he lifts his feet, and sand flies through the air as he ran across the shore in excitement.

Seto would most likely be the one to set up the blankets, umbrella, lounge chair, and basket of food if he ordered Roland to stay at bay. Joey wasn't sure of what the male would wear, but he was sure the pale man would be needing a lot of sunscreen. And a certain blond wouldn't mind helping him out.

Joey didn't want to vividly imagine that he would have to force the brunet to swim with him, and succeed by challenging him to a swim race. He was sure he could win! But whatever the results were, Joey would want to play a splashing game with him which Seto may or may not take seriously!

After playing in the water, the two would refill their energy by opening the basket to eat their wrapped sandwiches and drinks. The two of them would lie or sit on the blankets talking about anything. And then out of nowhere, rain starts pouring. Joey would cry out and jump around under the rain. Seto would find him childish, but he wouldn't care! Swimming at the beach during a rainy day was an awesome experience to feel as the fresh and salt water mixed and slid across his skin.

He'd stick out his tongue to feel the cool drops. Seto would soon call him an idiot, but the blond knew even a cold asshole like the brunet would appreciate a rainy day at the beach. His cold blood would be enjoying the good chilly air. Joey softly snorted to himself for thinking of the taller teen as a reptile in disguise. He then grinned sheepishly when he thought of a sexy Seto with a fork tongue and piercing pupils. The blue of his eyes becoming more vibrant to him.

Thought back about the raining scene again, Seto's blue eyes would be brighter as well with the cloudy background. Joey would be heart struck if he would see the male staring down at him with those eyes under the soft pouring rain. The blond's breath hitched when he thought that maybe Seto wouldn't mind leaning down to give him a-

He smacked his head against a wall! He smacked it against the wall a few more times and was glad that he had bangs to cover the red mark on his forehead.

_WHAT THE FUCK AM I THINKING?! I'm not actually a girl! I shouldn't be thinking about having a date with Seto! I'm dating Mokuba as a rebound, and Seto is going to date Kisandra! And there won't be any date between us._

Joey felt an ache in his chest. He growled loudly.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?! I shouldn't be feeling this way! Stupid heart! Stop being in love with Seto! Stop it! You know that you're not meant to be with him! Kisandra is! Yugi said so, and he's never wrong! He's the king of games! If he decided to be a matchmaker, he'd totally pick Seto to be with Kisandra, and I'm going to be with some other tall, pale, blue-eyed brunet! It's...It's just puppy love that I'm feeling right now. That's it. Puppy love. It'll be gone before I know it and this stupid crush will be gone._

Joey finally reached the front door, and in came Seto Kaiba, and damn, did he not look like he was in a good mood. The blond thought about hiding to not be innocently put into the wrath of the blue-eyes white dragon weilder, but he was too late to act when Seto laid his piercing glare at him.

"What are you still doing in my home, **mutt**?" The CEO snapped hatefully.

Joey did not like the tone the damn bastard was using on him at all. No matter how angry one was, you did not just used a tone that degraded another as if they were a slave! He gritted his teeth to stop himself from outright lashing his tongue at him. He instead said harshly, "I was just spending time with Mokuba-"

"Must you always do that?" Seto made Joey sound like a complete nuisance. "Why don't you try to do your own damn homework instead of bothering him?! He doesn't need a retard like you holding him back!"

"Holding him back?! Excuse me?! I was the one who helped Mokuba get better after the break up! Unlike your arrogant heartless ass, I can actually give him emotional support!" Joey didn't mean to say that, but he was too angry to give a damn!

Seto bit back! "Don't lump my brother with your stupid friends!"

Joey balled his fists. He didn't care that Seto's other security guards was around, and this was his house. Under any roof, there had to be respect! "Don't call my friends stupid, and maybe if your weren't such a busy bastard, you would've been there for him before me instead! Where the fuck were you?!" Seto grabbed his collar to show Joey his place, but the blond kicked him back.

The brunet instinctively punched Joey with the hand holding his briefcase. Seto had taken different fighting class so he knew how to give a perfect punch, so the brown-eyed duelist felt the harsh blow of the male's bony knuckles clash against his cheek, teeth accidently tearing the flesh of his bottom lip, and blood pooled onto his tongue. Joey also felt the smack of the flying briefcase hit against the back of his head

It was so harsh that Joey would have been turned around facing the other way, but he stood firmly on his feet and allowed himself to be wounded. He wasn't going to give Seto the satisfaction of hitting him hard.

And just a split second after the hit, he punched Seto square on the jaw. Not hard enough to break but hard enough to bruise that it wouldn't heal for weeks. Seto kicked him at his rib cage, and Joey found himself jumping the brunet onto the ground. He saw red as he landed two punches on that pretty face before the security guards pulled him away.

Seto quickly stood up on his own. Ordering his men not to touch him. He then faced his glare onto the blond who glared back just as fiercely. "Get him out of my house!"

"I can do that by myself!" Joey flipped one guard onto his back, and then punched the other one away. "I don't even want to be here anyway!" He ordered the guards coming at him, "DON'T FUCKIN' TOUCH ME!" The guards didn't move as if Joey was a suicide bomber. And then pointed indignantly at the CEO. " Whadever yer fuckin' problem is, don't put it on jus' fuckin' anyone, ya asshole! Go get laid or somethin' ya fuckin' maniac!"

"Please! I'd say that you'd be hearing from my lawyer, but you're just trash! Worthless!"

"Heard it all before! And just like I said before, get over yourself!" Joey stepped out of the mansion furiously.

Seto wanted to stay angry. His company had just found their traitor, but that traitor would only talk about Gozaburo as if he was alive, and that unnerved him that he resorted to physical torture to make him stop and answer the damn questions! But the traitor kept talking about his step-father no matter what. About what he tended to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What he talked about the most which were about his once grand military company, the death of his only son, and so much more.

Yet, after getting into a fight with Wheeler, Seto's mind began to clear. He acted immature and unprofessional. He acted emotionally vulnerable to his anger, and hated himself for that. He sighed, and took Wheeler's advice to get laid. He needed to work off his stress. He looked to the direction where Mokuba could have been at the moment, and then stepped out of his mansion to see Joey sitting at his steps.

Well, this is awkward.

Joey looked behind his shoulder to see Seto, and looked away quickly. The CEO assumed the actor had his pick up truck parked by one of his valets, and had called for the valet to get his truck out, and was now waiting for him.

The blond's red truck came to the front, and the valet gave him his keys. Seto watched as Joey looked down at his keys for a moment and then closed his hand. The brown-eyed duelist looked over his shoulder to the CEO who continued to stare at him. He apologized, "I'm sorry." he looked away, put one hand on his hip and the other behind his head. "You must've had a hard day at work, and I understand that you can get stressed, so I'm sorry for what I said and hitting you. Even though you hit me first, but that doesn't matter." Seto rolled his eyes because it apparently did matter that he struck first, and he hated that Joey was apologizing first. This made it seem more like Joey proving that he was the better man. "So yeah, bye."

Seto watched him take a few steps before swallowing his own pride, and sighed through his nose. "I'm sorry, too." He confessed begrudgingly. Joey stopped walking and turned sideways to look at the older man. Seto continued, "And thank you for being there for Mokuba when I couldn't. It truly does mean a lot to me that he has someone he can depend on, and someone I can trust." Seto approached the male who turned his whole body toward the brunet. Kaiba frowned and glared at the bruise forming on Joey's cheek, and the cut on his bottom lip that continued to bleed. Some of that blood already dried and flaky on Joey's chin. "You should go to the hospital to have that checked. I'll pay for the hospital bill."

"I don't want your money, richboy."

"Like you said, Wheeler, I was the one who pulled the first punch. If I had controlled my anger, then-"

"Hey, everyone gets mad." Joey said softly.

Kaiba also spoke softly yet also sternly, "But I'm not everyone."

The blond glared at him. "I mean that you're human, you damn robot. And even you can't deny that even you have your least proudest moments because you couldn't control yourself. I'm an expert on them, so take my advice and just whatever is bothering you, don't be afraid to tell me instead of keeping it all to yourself, and doing something stupid like this. Who knows what would of happened if you saw Mokuba instead."

Seto narrowed his eyes as he felt insulted. He cared for Mokuba moreso than him. "I wouldn't hurt him."

"Not purposely or physically." Joey didn't hesitate to say. "It's the fact that you'd ignore him if you were like this. He's been telling me of how much you allow yourself to carry too many burdens, when he's old enough to shoulder some of them, too, y'know. No matter how many friends Mokuba's gonna have, it's your opinion that matters the most. And to be considered just a nuisance by you instead of someone you can rely on can make him lonely no matter how many of us surround him."

Seto felt like he was being scolded. He corrected with crossed arms, "I don't make him feel like he's a nuisance."

"But it's what he feels. He needs you to trust him more now than you did when he was eleven."

Seto couldn't tell Joey that he didn't understand their situation when Joey understood Mokuba more than he did right now. That angered him, and he wanted to spend more time with Mokuba to know him better than the blond, but this wasn't a time to be competitive. They were talking about what his little brother needed, and that was more of Seto's trust to carry his burdens. But the blue-eyed duelist hated to feel dependent.

And Joey seemed to sense this insecurity as he had his hands on his own hips. "And I'm not talkin' about giving him more work, but on what the hell are yer problems with the company and other stuff out of work. And don't let your pride get in the way of doin' that. Love is more important. Remember that, you cold-hearted bastard."

The two of them stared into each others eyes, and they had a moment. Not a passionate moment of desire. It was more of a moment of a cleansing between them. They had just punched each other in the faces, and now they were having this talk where Joey was teaching the brunet a life lesson or two.

Kaiba scoffed, "I don't need you telling me how to treat my brother."

"Whatever." Joey said what he wanted to say, and that was it. Whatever Seto was going to do with it was his own problem. He turned to leave, but Seto reminded him, "I'm still paying for your medical bill."

The blond rolled his eyes, "Whatever floats your boat, moneybags. And I'm gonna tell you this before I go." He got into his car, started it, and rolled down his window. A huge grin on his face, "If your guards hadn't gotten in the way, I would have so totally won that fight!" he sped away before Kaiba could make some smartass remarks.

Kaiba glowered at the running car. Yet, Seto didn't feel like he lost. Just because the idiot thought he could win didn't mean he would actually win. Roland cleared his throat, and Seto noticed the limo was ready for him to take him to some whore to relieve his stress, but then he wasn't in the mood anymore. "Cancel it, Roland. I rather talk to my brother." He wasn't going to tell Mokuba about Gozaburo, but at least keep the details vague enough.

He hated that Joey actually got him to change his mood and mind so easily without actually trying, but then he also couldn't help the smile crossing his face when he saw his little brother in the game room on the couch. This was better than going to some nobody.

Worry was on Mokuba's face when he saw the bruises forming on Seto's face. "What happened?!"

"Joey and I got into a fight, but it was nothing life-threatening." Seto mentally snorted at the idea of them fighting to be ever life-threatening. He sat down next to his vice president.

Kaiba was given a surprised question, "Did you just call Joey by his first name?" Mokuba knew he should've questioned of why they were fighting in the first place, and he felt like he should be a bit angrier than usual with his brother to ever dare hurt his new secret boyfriend! But the first name matter was a huge surprise for both Kaiba brothers.

Seto looked at him with bewilderment, and then he looked away. "Why? Is it weird that I say his first name?" He made it sound like it was no big deal, but it was a big deal for him. This meant Joey was getting a foot in a place he shouldn't be allowed to do so.

Mokuba was unsure of whether if it was a big deal for them after hearing that statement. "Well, it's just that you always called him by his last name or other not-so-nice names. You only call me and Yugi by our first names. Why the sudden shift after a fight? And why were you fighting in the first place?"

Kaiba sighed. He didn't want to answer either questions, but he wanted to be open to his brother to not make him feel like a nuisance. "Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue, and Wheeler actually got a good hit that my mind is losing it a bit. And we were fighting over nothing. I was simply mad because we found the traitor in our company-"

"You did?!"

"Yes, and the moron refused to give any information no matter what we did. I got angry and took it out on Wheeler who fought back. But it's okay Mokuba. We worked it out."

"Already?"

"As hard as it is to believe, but yes. Wheeler and I worked over our differences, and left as the great friends we are." Seto said that somewhat sarcastically which left room for Mokuba to believe that he was being honest.

"Oh, okay." Mokuba let a few seconds past before asking, "You didn't hurt him too badly right? He does need to have a pretty face for his work."

"Just a couple of bruises and a split lip. Nothing makeup can't hide."

"Are you sure?"

"He's going to the hospital, so we'll know how bad it is when he gets checked."

About half an hour later, "A concussion?!" Kiyoko yelled within the hospital.

Joey quickly added, "But I feel fine!" His words were a bit slurred.

The doctor pointed out, "You came in wobbling a bit with a hard time focusing, and you complained of why the room was too bright before you told me that you got hit at the back of the head by a briefcase. And then you were nodding off on me during our talk where you slurred your words. These are signs of a concussion. But just a moderate to severe one. You will be fine by the next hour or so. All you need to do is take a break and do not bang your head against any hard surfaces."

The blond sighed in relief. He can do that. "Thanks Doc."

"No problem, but we have to talk about your other injuries. Your split lip will take about a week to heal. Your bruises on the other hand on your cheek and ribs will take a couple of them. You are not allowed to do any strenuous movements such as playing sports or in your case stunts."

Kiyoko said, "We can do that. Mr. Wheeler only has to show up at campaigns and simply not be put in any strenuous activities."

"But I wanna play!" The blond whined with sleepy puppy eyes. The doctor immediately wanted to yield, but Kiyoko flashed her a glare.

"No, Mr. Wheeler." She snapped at her star. "You will only give speeches and pose for cameras in order for the campaign to be funded. You are lucky that the person who attacked you is actually going to pay for the bill instead of suing you. He called me to tell me so, so you don't deny his charity."

Joey pouted like a child as he crossed his arms. He winced when it hurt to do so. That kick really did a number on him.

After exiting the hospital, Kiyoko had him taken home by driving his pick up truck since she came to the hospital by taxi. The blond couldn't help nodding off during the ride. Kiyoko tried to keep him awake, and he tried, but then a female's voice was singing to him. The voice oddly didn't come from the car's radio. No, it came from somewhere else. The beautiful voice that he could only hear if he was to stop trying to stay awake. Losing focus, he fell asleep.

Kiyoko sighed. She wasn't paid enough for this. She reached the apartment building, and tried to slap the actor awake, but he was really out of it. She tried splashing her cold bottle of water on him, but no response at all. This heavily concerned her that she called the doctor and informed her about the problem. The doctor had her look at his eyes to see if they were dilated. They were slightly so.

The doctor told her to bring Joey back to the hospital. Kiyoko drove them back, and the doctor met them at the parking lot with a male nurse to help bring the unconscious blond back to the hospital room without attracting attention. The agent was terrified by what the results would be. "I thought you said it was mild?!"

"I said it was mild to severe, and right now, I believe the hit to the back of the head must've been harder than expected. He told me that it was hard enough to turn him around but he stood his ground which must've made the impact harder than it should have been. And knowing his background with the gangs he fought, I can't say he was exaggerating. I cannot do anything except tell you that you have to wait until he decides to wake up."

"But what if he's in a coma?"

"I examined his head and neck to safely say that he must be experiencing some non-lethal swell to the brain. It should only take about no more than a week or two to heal, and he should wake by then." (Not a doctor, and Joey survived a lightning strike without brain injuries, so go with it.)

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, so for now all we can do is have him sleep."

Kiyoko let the doctor leave, and then quickly called up the source of this problem!

Kaiba was playing games with his brother, and then paused the game when his cellphone rang. "It's Kiyoko." He told Mokuba before answering, "How bad is it?"

"He's in a coma!" She shouted so loudly that Mokuba thought Seto accidentally put it in speaker.

"What?!" Seto shouted back. He didn't hit the idiot that hard!

"The doctor thought it was just a concussion, but he suddenly fell asleep, and nothing is waking him up!"

"How the hell can that be?! How can a hit by my briefcase to his head cause him a coma!"

"I supposed you hit him harder than you expected! How in the world am I going to explain to his fans, his family or school about why they haven't seen or heard from him for days or even weeks!"

Seto growled. He hated her tone, but also hated himself at the moment. Joey was fine before he left! He even drove himself to the hospital! What the hell was going on?!

._._._.

Joey was walking toward the singing voice in a vast darkness. He didn't understand anything that was happening, and didn't feel like questioning it. All he knew by instinct was that he had to get to that singing voice. The beautiful singing voice that sang in an unknown language.

Eventually, he found himself in front of a door.

It was a double black door that had intricate carved red eyes black dragons upon it and twisted spikes at the corners. The knobs were rubies held by a talon shaped handle. The blond knew this looked like bad news but he heard the beautiful voice behind those doors. He wanted to hear the voice clearly, so he grasped the right knob.

A gush of wind blew past him, and the door transformed into the red eyes black dragon! Joey found the knob turn into his talon. The dragon screeched before turning into smoke. Joey silently screamed when he felt a stab to his chest. He looked down to find a hand ripping his heart out from him.

"N-no! I need that!" Joey tried to reach for his heart, but the hand moved back into an endless darkness. No longer in sight, the blond thought he was going to fall to his death, but then the smoke essence of his red eyes black dragon entered his heart, and he breathed without realizing that he wasn't.

A bright light engulfed him without warning. The beautiful singing voice finally became clear to him.

_I am not a princess._

_My father is not my father._

_Yet, blood does not determine love._

_In his heart, mind and spirit, I am his daughter._

_I am not a monster._

Joey felt the light dim out, so he found it safe to open his eyes. The first thing he heard was, "Stop thief!"

The blond groaned, "Who's watching Aladdin?" He blinked his blurry eyes, and saw not the castle from the Disney movie, but instead the castle that he knew Atem had! He looked around to see the same familiar buildings he saw during that whole weird memory trip!

He also found himself floating above the place too! But he wasn't really all that surprised. He figured he was just having a dream, and he did miss Atem so perhaps he was just making up whatever his mind could make up at the moment.

"Stop!" He heard the same voice ordered. He looked to where it came to see a bunch of guards chasing a black haired child holding onto a loaf of bread. "Stop dammit!"

The kid slipped and the guards were about to grab him, but someone else grabbed him first. The person held him protectively at his side. Joey floated down to see the person up close to see a very handsome person with brown eyes and lighter skin than the natives. The man wore a cloak and a short black wig.

"Give us that child!" One of the guards ordered. "Or else we'll arrest you as well."

The stranger chuckled. He spoke with a calming voice that just told people that he was filled with wisdom. "Arrest me from stopping you from manhandling such a desperate child in hunger? You men are ruthless."

"He stole that bread!"

"Is that true young man?" He looked down at the child who strangely looked a lot like Mokuba.

The child answered, "B-But I was so hungry!"

"Is there no one to feed you, dear?" Tears build up in the child's eyes as he shook his head. The stranger gave a comforting pat. He reached into his bag to take out a bag of money. "I'll pay for the bread, but you must also promise me to tell the pharaoh about the starving children on the streets if he wished to not have something like this happen again."

A low familiar voice scoffed at the stranger's proposal. In came priest Seth in his mighty glory with a rod in hand. "Who are you to bribe the guards into speaking with the pharaoh with this matter. And for your information commoner, the pharaoh already knows of this problem and is doing his best to control the situation."

The stranger smiled at him. It wasn't haughty, but it was a look as if the brown-eyed male was looking down at a child. "It's to be an extra incentive, then." He placed the bag onto one of the guard's hands. "And you should be careful with your words, ya sleazy priest. You make your pharaoh sound like a dictator."

Priest Seth was stunned by this person's bravado. He gritted his teeth as he restrained himself from using his rod. "How dare you speak to me like that?! I am the weilder of the rod! You will know your place and give me respect!"

"Or will you inflict me harm for giving you my opinion?" The man smirked. "Oh my, do I worry for the future of these children. Come on child, let's buy you food."

"Don't turn your back on me!" The priest barked, but the stranger turned anyway.

The stranger ran while he spluttered, "This child is famished! I must feed him and his friends immediately if you wish to see the future of these children be bright!"

Priest Seth silently cursed. One of the guards asked him of what they should do. The priest glared daggers at the stranger who walked to a booth for a big basket of fruits, fish and vegetables. It was strange of how the stranger was able to afford them. "Send a spy on them. I want to know all about this man."

Joey glared at the priest for not leaving the stranger alone. "Hey! He was just trying to protect that kid! Why do you have to be such a jackass even in the past?!" Yet, no one heard him. He expected as much, but it felt good to let it out.

The priest and the guards walked away to the castle. Joey made a face at him before looking for the stranger with the kid. The two were walking through an alleyway. He followed them to a building that was way out in the corner of the city that looked like it was left to disintegrate. The blond was shocked to find over twenty children within the vicinity. If the child with the stranger was an orphan, then that meant that all these kids were orphans.

It donned on Joey that Egypt wasn't so perfect after all. He didn't expect it to be perfect, but after all the wishful speaking about peace and such, he at least expected less orphans than this. And if Seth was still a priest, then that meant that Atem was pharaoh or his dad was. He'd figure it out later. For now, he saw the stranger remove his hood, and wig to reveal a bun of golden hair, and bangs.

Joey's eyes widened when the person removed the cloak to expose round breasts hidden behind her Greek dress that shaped her body.

The children surrounded her with questions. She shushes them as if it was the easiest thing to do. Joey saw her as a goddess to accomplish having all of them stay quiet as if kids could be angels. She told them with her feminine voice, "Yes, the plan was done. Anpu served his role well, and I am sure that that stubborn priest would alert the pharaoh about your conditions."

One of them raised his or her hand. She allowed him or her permission to speak. "Uhm, but what if he doesn't, Jona?"

The woman smirked. "Of course, he will. That priest is a damn perfectionist. I've seen many of his kind on my many travels across the barren sea. If he is aware of a problem, he will set out to accomplish to bring peace. If he's smart enough, he will create a place of free education to you all, and food will be given to you as you learn. But then of course, you must work hard to earn that right. Yet, if you have trouble, do not be afraid to ask for help. Everyone has their troubles with knowledge. I still have a problem with mathematics and have to have my tutor teach me over five times for days before I can move an inch to learn what's next." She spoke with charisma that engrossed the children.

"What's education?" The child was shushed by the other kids for speaking without without being given permission.

The woman assured them that its okay, and reminded the child to raise his hand if he wishes to speak again. And then answered, "Education is what you learn. It's like when I taught you all of how to spell, read and speak in not only Egyptian but also Greek. With education, you are able to be whatever you set your mind to. Just be careful of who you wish to be because they can be deadly like my life as a sailor."

Joey sat down behind the group of kids. He can't shake off that she looked familiar. But to who...

A child rose her hand. "But I wanna be a sailor like you, Jona! Even if it meant that I'll have to dress up as a guy!"

"I only dress up as a guy, because my identity is a secret! I am a princess after all. Princess Jona of Athens, Greece." She twirled around. "What you need to be careful about are the savages!"

The children gasped, "Savages?"

"Yes. The savages." The woman began telling them tales of her adventures while moving around, giving dialogue, and making strange voices. The kids either gasped in fear, laughed out loud, or stayed silent. And then they went out to play a ball of game. When a child was accidentally hurt, the child was immediately helped to his feet by the kids closest to him or her and bought to the side. Jona would inspect the injury, and then helped the child be comfortable, before having a child stay by his or her side before she continued to play with the kids.

And then one of the guards suddenly appeared. The kids looked to the man and then cried out together, "Hoda!" Joey stared at the man to see that he strangely looked like Tristan. The kids crowded around and bombarded him with questions and requests!

Jona giggled and then told the children to calm down. She excused her and the other adult to speak while the kids protect each other. Joey followed the adults inside of the place. This Hoda frowned at her with crossed arms. "I told you to be more careful, Jona! I told you I would already try to tell the pharaoh myself! Why do you have to pick a fight with the priest?!"

"There is war happening, Hoda. If those soldiers enter this city-"

"Our pharaoh won't let that happen."

"Aknamkanon wants peace, but he doesn't know how to make that happen. If one man chooses not to listen, and no other higher being than the pharaoh wishes to present a treaty, then he must fight. At least protect his people first before his ideals!"

"He's doing that!"

"Well, he's not doing it well enough." Jona spoke like the royal she was. Her arms crossed and eyes glimmering with a headstrong mind.

Yet, Hoda was not intimidated by her. "You're just a child! You do not understand war!"

"Excuse me, I lead my father's army into war at the age of fifteen, and came out victorious! If we had not readied ourselves to fight, then those cities would have been attacked, and beggars would have filled the streets within our other cities! These children are orphans because of this war!"

"You?! Lead an army?!" The guard was completely dubious to this. They sounded like old friends, yet seemed to still not know much of the other.

The woman lashed her tongue him, "Like my country's many goddesses! Athena! Artemis! Enyo! Do not look down on me because I am a woman, and don't give me the disrespect of telling me that because I am a woman, I do not belong on the battle field!" She dangerously lowered her voice. Eyes gleaming red as they saw the images of the past. Her golden hair darkening from yellow to brown and what could be known as pure black as she spoke every word, "I have seen my friends' blood smeared onto the Earth, and my enemies' blood across my body. I did it for my country. I did it for peace. My father wanted peace, but when refused," She made a motion with her hand that whisked through the air, and cried out, "I shall rip their pride and their generations' pride away! And if they have a close mind like yours, I shall let them relish in horror of having lost to me! A woman!"

Hoda sighed. "I just want you to be more careful."

Jona looked down as she lowered her balled hand. Her hair turning back to gold, and eyes a pool of honey. "Am I not always careful? In war, I have to be nothing but cautious. You don't want to strike the wrong person."

"At this point, I'm afraid of who you will consider your enemy. Priest Seth was only sixteen when he became a priest because he's a genius."

"A genius can be dangerous, but their greatest weakness are emotions. And emotions is what your pharaoh got. There has to be a balance between the two. Thankfully, I see potential in Atty."

Hoda was shocked, "Have you been seeing the young heir?!"

"Since when I began coming here. We have many talks, and he is a joy to love." She smiled sweetly.

"Y-you're not in love with him are you?"

The woman spoke with such gentleness as if her words were being carried like feathers on the clouds. "We share an agape love. He is a boy who will become the man who I would lay my life down for. He is destined to be the pharaoh. And if I were to be his queen, I would not deny this destiny." She looked out the window of the building to see the sun setting down.

"If you were my queen...I will follow you." Hoda was about to bow, but Jona held his shoulder without looking.

She reminded, "But we both know I'm not a princess by blood. Just deceit. The king is not my father, and it's by his blood, that makes a child royal. That's why I fight in battles. To be of use to him. To deserve his love and acceptance."

"Jona..."

She wiped a single tear away and then smiled at him. "Fine Hoda. You win. I won't bother priest Seth." The man sighed in relief. Jona adds mirthfully, "Purposely!" She ran out of the room to the other kids.

Hoda blinked and then realized what she meant! "JONA!"

The woman just laughed as the man chased her, and the kids tackled him down when Jona cried out for them to attack the giant!

After that, Hoda left, and the kids were to be put to sleep. "Must you go back home tomorrow, Jona?" One of the kids asked as the woman tucked him in with a candle lighting the room.

She smiled sweetly. "I am a princess. I have my royal duties to attend to. But don't worry. Like usual, Hoda will bring you food, water, and clothing. And you must all protect, and be loyal to one another. Do not dare strike another or abandon each other. You are all strong as a whole. As one."

"When will the war end?" Anpu asked. The child who looked like Mokuba.

Jona frowned as she tucked in the last child. "Nobody knows when a war will end. It's up to our leaders to determine that." She made her way to her own spot in the middle of the room. The youngest of children was to be the closest to her while the oldest surrounded them in order to protect them.

"Then why is the pharaoh not ending it yet? If he ju-"

"It's not the pharaoh who wanted this." The woman interrupted. "It's the enemy. They do not want to stop, and your pharaoh is doing everything he can to stop them. Like I told you, when one is in a terrible situation, you cannot escape without ruining things."

"Will they come here?" Those words set an atmosphere of fear among the children.

Jona softly smiled at all of them. The smile was hard to see with only one candle lighting the room, but the turn of her head was enough for the children to know that she was being comforting. She replied with an promising tone, "Even if they do, you will be protected. I promise you. Now how about a lullaby to help you all sleep." She cleared her throat, and then began singing with that beautiful voice that Joey had been hearing before.

As she sang, the candle became dimmer and dimmer until Joey found himself in darkness.

"Hello." A female's voice spoke.

"Nngh Aaaah!" Joey nearly jumped out of his skin! He looked beside him to see Jona wearing her Greek princess dress.

The woman giggled. "I did not mean to scare you within your thoughts. I believe you know now that I am Jona." Joey stared at her for a moment because he was trying to decide of whether she was just a figment or any actual soul visiting his dreams. The woman must've read his mind since she replied, "Yes, I am actually a soul visiting your dreams. I am your past incarnate."

Joey blinked and then looked from head to toe to head, and then pulled out the craziest grin! "OH MY GAWD, I'M FUCKIN' HOT!"

"AND YOU'RE ADORABLE!" Jona squealed. "I'm so jealous! I can't pull off being adorable! I'm always told that I'm too sexy!"

"Well, I'm a bit sexy myself!"

"Uh huh!"

The two blonds did their happy dance together about how good they looked for a good five minutes, and then they took a seat in the darkness laughing.

"Wow, so you're a Greek princess?" Joey asked.

"Not exactly. My mother had an affair with another man. The king knew I wasn't his daughter since I was born, but the moment he laid his eyes on me, he fell in love. He held me up to the sky and told everyone within the room that I was a goddess."

Joey would believe that his incarnate was a goddess since she looked like she could pass as a goddess in a movie set on Ancient Greece. "Are you?"

Jona giggled. "Of course not. But I am technically duel monster." She pulled down her collar to reveal a scar that ran down between her breasts. "First I should tell you about the birth of the red eyes black dragon."

._._._.

A/N: So yeah, Joey's past incarnation is a woman named Jona who is not a princess by royal blood since she has to be the king's daughter since the royal blood goes down through him. But the king accepted her as his daughter since he loved children. Nobody but her family knows the truth of her bloodline, and she makes up for her lack of blood by becoming a soldier for her father when war could not be prevented.

She is like Kisara who is the vessel of the red eyes black dragon, but in a different way.

She is older than Seth and Atem. I think Seth was at least four when the millennium items were created, and Atem was born a year after so they are just five years apart in age. Jona was seven when that happen so she's three years apart from Seth and eight years apart from Atem. So in this she's nineteen in that memory.

The difference between Joey and Jona, other than their genders, is their personality. They are both loyal, high-spirited, strong, wise and not all that smart. But Jona is a bit more merciless from having been in war, and far more mature. Joey is like a child while Jona is like a mother. She also loves to sing while Joey loves to cook.

Thanks for reading this far!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Okay, so I know that in Greece, it doesn't truly develop into the great society it became until the sixth century, and if I were to stay honest with the fact that Atem was born during the time Egypt separated (Japanese dub of 3000 years) or when Egypt began forming (English dub 5000 years).

So ignoring actual factual time line, Greece was a developed country with theaters, olympics and democracy in order to determine the changes of their society. They have a monarchy to be able to form alliances with other countries and strengthen the alliances or prevent war.

._._._.

Kaiba was staring out the window of the hospital room. He was currently visiting Joey who had been asleep for a week. Kiyoko was able to keep the media from knowing about this with Seto's help. Joey's father didn't know about this, so he wouldn't turn to alcohol by using this as an excuse. His friends were well aware of this, and were enraged (at least Tristan bought it to that peak) at Kaiba for doing this, but they haven't had the chance to confront him since he eluded them.

Except for Yugi, who was able to reason with him through phone that he wasn't angry. He just wanted to know if he was okay, and Seto wasn't but he didn't tell him that. He just gave him a cold remark, and then hung up.

Seto didn't start with feeling terrible. At first, he was simply too shocked to understand that he had hit the damn duelist too hard to make him unconscious. To put him into a coma, it was absurd, but now that a week had passed, and the swelling to the brain showed little signs of improvement, he began to weakly believe that the blond may not wake up for months. Optimistically, at least a few would pass before he woke up.

"Shouldn't you wake up, already, idiot." Seto said as he still stared out the window. It was raining. The man had cancelled the gala he was supposed to have since he and Mokuba didn't feel like hosting one.

Mokuba was greatly upset, and Seto knew he blamed him for this even if he didn't say so. The pre-teen had been visiting Joey every day from after school to the weekends with the others. The older Kaiba chose to visit Joey alone preferably, so he wouldn't be racked with guilt if he were to see the other faces accusing him loudly and silently that this was his fault.

He knew it was his fault, dammit!

Seto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His company was coming to some sort of temporary peace after catching the traitor, but he was not happy. He knew he never really was truly happy with his company. He did feel satisfaction from it, but it never lasted long enough to leave some sort of indent in him.

He turned around to look down at the sleeping form of Joey Wheeler: the current source of his affections.

He reached his hand to touch his, but stopped himself. He...didn't deserve to hold his hand. The hand he caught during their first dance at the Halloween ball. The hand he held so dearly when they slowly danced that night in the Nightful Moon restaurant. The hand he held when Joey needed him during that night at the park. He didn't deserve to feel that searing hot warmth that palm held.

"Do I have to kiss you?" He asked with the intention of it being a joke, but he knew he sounded serious. He thought he was letting grief get to him mentally if he was actually thinking that kissing the blond would wake him up like the fairy tale dreams he had. Yet, this time, there was nothing to wake him up from doing so now. He tried to say his next line as a joke, "Like some princess in a fairy tale? If that's so, I've seen prettier princesses." The brunet just ended up hating himself more. He hated that he couldn't be honest even when the blond was unconscious.

A part of him that glimmered with hope told him that Joey might hear him since it was rumored that people in a coma can actually hear what someone was saying. Kaiba then wondered if the hot, passionate blond was dreaming. He wanted to know if he was in it. He cruelly chuckled at himself as he thought that the puppy might be having a nightmare if the dream centered around the two of them.

._._._.

Joey was having fun! Jona had him experience what she experienced from riding horses across the fields of Athens, swimming in lakes, jumping off cliffs, and most of all, riding the back of the red eyes black dragon across the sky! He danced, drank and ate in festivals. They were just memories, and he loved the type of the food Jona was able to eat! He was amazed by how the theater worked! He could hear the actors clearly from how far he sat!

And he also got to witness from afar the wars that Jona had taken place in! Duel monsters didn't only exist in Egypt as other countries had found their own way of unleashing them, but Jona was able to bring down giants and sorcerers and more on the field with red eyes at her side! But even when it was a thrill to see, the aftermath was a dread to stand in as Jona sang for their lost comrades.

Her voice carried throughout the area. Her voice smoothly entering the souls and hearts of warriors, widows and orphaned children. She had even the strongest of men and women cry for their deceased loved one. Joey couldn't stop from crying, too, and he wasn't the one burdened for the loss of a love one.

"So that's why you sing?" Joey asked when the two sat down on soft grass in a meadow during a sunny blue day.

"I was nine when I went to my first funeral." The woman replied dolefully. "My heart was overcome by the grief and glumness of the room that I just started to sing. Nobody stopped me as I was able to bring out a heavenly feel that their souls was able to pass through Hades domain with a promise for a good afterlife."

"Huh. I wish I could sing like you."

"We are the same person. Perhaps you can. Have you tried?"

The duelist laughed awkwardly like a buffoon. "Please! If ya heard me, I'd sound like a broken record!"

The amber-eyed woman gave him a knowing smile that saw through his insecurities to see a talented-hidden male. She offered, "Then I can teach you."

"But I'm dreaming right? How can I improve my voice? All I know is that I think I sing good, but in real life, I'll sound horrible!"

"You will have to remember my teachings and practice them in real life, and simply keep trying. You'll be able to sing like me in no time since we're gifted."

Joey felt like he can trust her, since she sounded so reassuring like a mother. Joey loved her for having that kind of atmosphere around her. It felt like he was making up for his lost time when he didn't having a mother's love, teachings and adoration.

He had learned a lot from the woman such as the birth of the red eyes black dragon.

Red eyes was the child of Zorc. The evil deity wanted to be pure evil, so he had to remove his heart. And it happened that every time Zorc lost a limb or organ, they turned into a new monster. Zorc's heart became the red eyes black dragon after extraction.

And then came the fusion with Jona and red eyes. The woman's mother hated her, since she saw Jona as untraditional, and blamed her for no longer being the one mostly loved by the king. Her mother, one day, went to an oracle for warnings of a new threat. The oracle told her that one of her children would be overcome with evil in the future. The woman immediately thought that it would be Jona who would become evil, so she gave Jona, who was seven at the time, as a sacrifice for Zeus without her father's knowing.

In the process of the sacrifice, Jona was bound to a stone, and had her heart ripped out. Yet, she did not die when the red eyes black dragon was released the day the millenium items were created. The duel monster needed a vessel and chose her. In return for being his vessel, she was given a heart.

Her mother was shocked to find her alive, and had been sending assassins and such to kill Jona ever since. The princess had nearly been stabbed, burned, poisoned, drowned, imprisoned, and thrown off a cliff more times than usual. If it weren't for being fused with the red eyes black dragon, she would have died.

Then Joey was answered of why they were only able to meet only now. It seemed that the hit the the back of the head by Seto had somehow jolted her sleeping in his form. She had died in a war, and was left to be a wandering spirit until she was reborn into Joey. She theorized that it was because he was exposed to the magic of the millenium items often that it had rubbed on him to release his past incarnate within him. It made more sense to add that part to make things less difficult to believe.

It would not work on Seto or Yugi since their past incarnates had passed to the spirit world. Though this made Joey ask of why she didn't pass to the spirit world, too. The reason was because at the moment of her death, she was unsure of which religion she believed in. She may be Grecian, but the choice of religion became an ultimatum since it meant that she had to chose either to be with her family or her true love for eternity in the afterlife. A reasonable person would choose family, but her circumstances were difficult at the time.

Joey wanted to know who her true love was, but all she would say was that he was Egyptian. The reincarnation made a guess that it was Atem or Seth. Jona said that it could be between the two, and then gave a sly devil smirk. Joey felt some naughty vibes came off of her. He felt tempted to ask if it was both, but blushed instead as her smirk grew.

Jona didn't want to tell him everything about her past yet since she wanted to take this slowly since it's been five thousand years since she had anyone else other than Pyrrhus.

Pyrrhus happened to be the name of her red eyes black dragon. It turned out that the red eyes black dragon card he held was the reincarnated version of her red eyes. It turned out that duel monsters souls are able to go through the duel disk system, but can only go as far as see what was in front of them and react with whatever characteristic traits they were given.

Joey, in fact had the red eyes black dragon reincarnated soul inside him when it is not played on the field, since when Jona was reborn, Pyrrhus went with her.

The blond found it unbelievable, but he had to admit that he felt an incredible, close connection to red eyes. The moment Rex showed him the card, he knew he just had to have it. And when it was played, his heart jumped wildly like it never had for any card. At Battle City when he had to give it away, he was truly upset that he even almost let Serenity down. When Atem won it back for him, he knew that red eyes needed to be with him, and he felt that the card agreed with him.

He didn't know if he was exaggerating, but Jona reassured him that he wasn't. She saw through his memories, and had been proud to see how far the two had went through together.

Joey felt extremely happy to hear how proud she was because it felt like a mother was telling her child that. It left a bitter sweet ache in his chest, and that ache had his own red eyes soar from the sky to comfort him with an affectionate nuzzle.

"I got to admit that meeting you was one of the sweetest things to happen to me. And I'm not exaggeratin'!" Joey gushed as he had his red eyes walk with him through the temple of Athena.

Jona had her Pyrrhus in a smaller size on her shoulder. A trick that she would teach Joey later in his future dreams. Despite being in a dream, which meant Joey doing it by imagination should be enough, his red eyes was its own soul which meant that his red eyes was like a pet from a virtual world where things needed to be taken step by step without using cheat codes.

The woman blithely smiled, "The same for me. I cannot get over how amazingly cute I had become."

"And I'm still jealous of how sexy I used to be. I mean I'm sexy, too, but you jus' take it to a whole otta level, y'know what I mean." And then Joey felt some sort of odd sensation on his lips. He touched them to feel them oddly flatten. "My lips feel weird."

"Must be someone placing something on your lips while you sleep." Jona gave an innocent smile that felt out of place at the moment for Joey.

Outside, Kaiba had given in to his thoughts that perhaps a kiss would wake up the blond once and for all. It was supposed to be a quick chaste kiss. However, he felt bewitched by the warmth and tingling the moment their lips touched. Joey's lips were kept not chapped thanks to Tea who thought that Joey might appreciate staying handsome. It was her strange way of consoling herself, but Kaiba didn't concentrate on that than what he was currently doing.

It felt so wrong, but it also felt so right. His lips on Joey's stirred up desire and hidden feelings within his chest that wanted him to deepen the kiss, but he restrained himself to simply putting lip upon lip and enjoy the warmth and tingling he felt right now.

In the inside, Joey was still confused, "Why would someone put something on my lips? I don't remember giving anyone a key to my apartment."

"You could be at the hospital." Jona supplied. "Maybe you slept for more than a day."

That did not sound right at all! "More than a day?! How long have I been here?"

"I honestly don't know. In dreams time passes differently. Sometimes weeks would pass within what felt like a day or two at least."

"Weeks?!" Joey panicked! He had to wake up!

Jona gave him a guilty apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I forgot. I was caught up with enjoying my time with you now that we're finally together. I hope to see you again in my next dream."

That hope made Joey settle his panic down a little, but he still had to get out! "Me too." He gave a grateful, honest smile, and then freaked! "But right now I need to wake up!"

"How about closing your eyes, click yours heels three times and think to yourself, 'There's no place like home.'." Jona was merely joking, but Joey took it seriously and did as he was told. If it worked for Dorothy, then it would work for him!

He closed his eyes shut, clicked his heels three times while chanting to himself, "There's no place like home!"

Kaiba leaned back to look down at Joey's slack face. He frowned to himself as he scolded himself for doing such a childish thing. He sighed, closed his eyes and turned away. He thought about leaving, but then he heard a groan. His eyes flew open, and he snapped his head to Joey so fast that he could've gotten whiplash!

Joey groaned again as his eyes slowly opened. He moved his body slightly on the bed as he felt a bit strained at the small of his back and tailbone from having lied down perfectly still for weeks. His eyes focused on the oddly shaped figure with brown, blue, peach and white that nearly matched the walls background. He recognized those colors in the way they were arranged. "Kaiba?" he whispered weakly.

Seto's heart impacted itself at the back of his ribs. What in the hell was happening now?! Did true love's kiss actually exist! Did he even truly love Joey?! He was too stunned and confused with how reality and fantasy was colliding itself together in his world, that he just did the first thing he could do instinctively!

He pulled Joey's pillow from under the blond, and smothered him with it! Joey screamed a muffled, "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Seto didn't mean to do it. He just instinctively did what he would usually do and that was to terminate the cause of the problem. And that cause was Joey right now.

The blond rose its sleepy leg that jolted from panic to kick Seto away from him. Joey breathed and then sat up yelling, "WHY DE FUCK WAZ YA TRYIN' TA KILL ME?!"

Seto slowly stood up from the floor, straightened his suit and tie, and then said weakly, "You're awake."

"Yeah! Doesn't mean ya had de right ta smother me, ya psycho! What was dat for?!" Joey was staring at Seto incredulously. He can't remember what he did to deserve this!

The CEO ignored his anger. "You were in a coma for a week due to brain swelling, but it looks like you're alright now." Seto forced himself to sound even as he tried to breathe evenly, too.

Joey's chest fell as he felt a chunk of his limited lifetime was sawed off him! "A week?! Oh my god! Kiyoko's gonna kill me! A week dat I could have worked on is all gone!"

Seto sympathized with him, but he was far more disappointed. "Is that all that matters right now?"

"Uhm..." Joey immediately remembered his tutoring/date! "Oh shit! Mokuba!"

Kaiba felt a blood vessel burst. "Not just him! Who do you think had to be blamed for this?!"

"What?" The patient asked innocently. He had the habit of forgetting things when he wakes up from a trance or dream.

Kaiba growled. "You were in a coma for a week because I," He placed his palm on his chest as he bend down, leaned forward, and had his voice projected as he yelled. "hit you at the back of your daft skull! Do you know what you've been doing to me?!"

Joey blinked at him innocently. Kaiba gritted his teeth hard! He turned away from the blond, and projected his voice even louder, "Nevermind!" He grumbled to himself of how much of a clueless doofus the idiot was! He can't believe he kissed him! This idiot who had the gall to act as if a week of worry and angst didn't happen to him!

He sighed out, held his forehead on his palm, and then looked to the door that seemed very appealing at the moment. He needed to straighten his thoughts anyway. "I will inform the medical staff that you are awake. Here." He threw a cellphone at the boob. "Call the dorks you call friends, and leave me be."

"Fine! Leave! I'll call the others! At least, they won't try to smother me with my own pillow when I wake up! Although, there was that one time Tristan-"

"Not interested." Kaiba walked out of the room. His heart beated against his ears. What the fuck just happened?

Joey huffed, and used the cellphone that appeared to be his.

**"So this is what a phone looks like up close."** A woman said with her face up close beside his.

The reincarnation screamed, and leaped out of his bed. Jona stifled her laughter. She apologized. **"It seems that we are connected beyond the dream world, and I appear as a spirit unseen by all except you, my Joey."**

The woman stood beside him on the floor. She remained wearing her Greek princess dress with her long golden locks worn up in twists with her golden tiara to display her adopted royal heritage. Joey and her practically had the same face except she had her makeup on which had her appear far more mature and striking. No man would be able to approach her since she held an air of intimidation. However, when she smiled, it would welcome all who are children by age or heart.

Joey tried to touch her, and he was able to feel the fabric of her dress. The woman explained, **"It also seems that by sharing a conscience together, we are able to hold onto each other. And I can float."** She crisscrossed her legs on midair. **"As useful as this would be to catch you if you fall, but it's better if I do not help you since it may cause some widespread panic in your fame."**

"This is so cool!" Joey childishly snickered to himself. This was cool! He now has his own ancient spirit! "I can't wait to tell the others about you!" He quickly texted everyone that he was awake, and also sent a silly picture to show that he wasn't lying. It was faster that way since he wanted them all to know at once to meet him at the park to celebrate his awaken!

A lot of them texted at once with questions of if that is really okay or if he's really okay. Jona reassured him that because the red eyes black dragon's spirit is within him, he was sure to make a full recovery soon like he had done in the past.

Kiyoko called him to tell him that there was nothing special planned during the week that he had slept through, so there was no pressure of having to rush anything, and to enjoy his time. Joey told her that he really wanted her there so he could profusely apologize for scaring her, and promised to not get into fights anymore.

She tried to deny him, but he persuaded her, so she caved in to come.

So after the doctor check up (the doctor being baffled by the random recovery), Tea visited his room with a bag of clothes. She greeted him with tears and a bear hug, and then composed herself to smile brightly.

"I figured that after having a week of beauty sleep, you would want my help with your makeup!" She said cheerily. The two sat on the medical bed together. "That's if you want to cross dress. I also bought some guy clothes, too."

Joey grinned his trademark goofy grin. "Thanks Tea! I really appreciate the sentiment. But I think I wanna go with the guy clothes. I'd like to be just myself right now around you guys. The famous cross dresser Joey Wheeler can sleep for one more day."

The brunette smiled understandingly. "So hurry up and dress! Everyone else is going to the park early just to see you! You really gave us a scare when you went into a coma! What was it like?"

Joey smiled to the side where Jona was watching them from the corner. The woman had an amused expression on her face. They telepathically talked, _"Should I tell her now?"_

**"I believe that is best. From what I could tell from your lovely memories, she's the worry wart of your group."**

_"That's Tea, alright. She worries, and nags a lot like an annoying but also caring mom. And she totally has a crush on Yugi..." _Joey gave an expression that held a question of concern.

Jona sweetly replied,** "No. Atem was not my true love. However, my distressed heart beats wistfully for him since I couldn't help nor say my goodbyes to him during his battle with Zorc."**

_"Hey, you lived a sea away from him."_

**"Though I wish I had not been."**

"Joey?" Tea was concern about the sudden drop of silence between them.

"Huh." The blond turned his head to her. "Sorry. I was considerin' if I should tell you, but Jona thinks I should."

"Jona?" Tea said dubiously. Brows furrowed in concern.

Joey gave her another of his grins. "She's my ancient spirit! Just like how Atem was to Yugi, except this time it's different. Unlike Atem whose soul was in the millenium item, her soul was reincarnated into me!"

"What? Wait, slow down. What are you talking about?"

Joey explained of what happened during his coma with gestures and using the room as his stage. Tea listened with an astounded expression that didn't change from where she sat.

The blond expected her to be amazed, or baffled when he was done! However, he was met with a troubled expression. He was confused. "What's wrong, Tea? Don't you believe me?"

She forced herself to smile at him. "I do believe you, Joey," then her smile dropped instantly, "But you know what this could mean. What if it's some sort of destiny that you will have to fulfill with Jona, and put a lot of people in danger! Especially you!" Tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm still not over Atem leaving us. I-"

Joey felt a tug on his back, and then strangely felt lighter in weight. He suddenly didn't feel the need to breath. "Huh?" He found himself floating above the ground and intangible as he had his hand go through a wall next to him. He looked around to see Jona not in sight, yet his own body was walking towards the brunette.

Tea felt coarse, gentle hands on her arms. She felt both uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time. She knew it was Joey holding her, yet it wasn't Joey. The atmosphere was different. It wasn't bright and child-like. It felt more like a beautiful snowy night where she was cuddled in warm blankets in front of a roaring chimney fire. "Joey?" She looked up, and saw an uncharacteristic, soft, and endearing expression.

"Hello, Tea Gardner." Jona made Joey's voice sound deep and charming. It made the brunette before her shiver with delight. "I am Jona, princess of Athens. I understand that you fear for what will happen next from the pain you've felt before, but you must remember that despite how difficult the trials you and your friends had faced before, you had all found the light, and had your friendship nurtured beyond what mere friends are."

"But-"

Jona swiftly and gracefully took her hands in her hands. Her amber eyes never leaving hers. "But even with the temporary absence of one friend through a journey, you still have many to make, many to lose, but always remember brave and beautiful Tea Gardner, that despite the pain and grief, in the end, you will be greeted with light as long as you have faith."

Tea looked down, comprehended what she was told, and then wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She looked up to see the uncharacteristic mature expression the spirit made Joey's face do. She nodded, "Yes. I should be stronger."

Jona giggled. "You are already strong spiritually, Tea. What you need is to learn how to relax. I've been told that you love to dance. Joey and I would love to dance with you sometime before your departure to New York."

"I-I'd love that, too." She couldn't help but blushed. "Wow, you are not like Joey at all."

_"What's that supposed t'mean! I'm compassionate!"_ Joey yelled, but expectantly, he was ignored by Jona and not heard by Tea.

Jona giggled again. "No, but we fit like peanut butter and jelly."

Joey muttered,_ "I swear I get no respect!"_

The brunette mirthfully smiled. Then awkwardly asked, "So are you here with a mission?"

"None that I know of at the moment. I do have my memories unlike Atem, so I can reassure you that your friend's fate is not predetermined."

That relaxed the blue-eyed beauty somewhat. "Is there a certain time that you have to leave, though. I would love to get to know you before time is up. And I'm leaving for New York, so I-"

Jona spoke to stop her from babbling herself into depression. "There's plenty of time, and I shall not leave Joey's side too soon. And your generation has plenty devices to help keep you two in contact. There's also the addition of Joey being everywhere when his fame grows further beyond the years."

Tea couldn't help feeling dumb at the moment when the ancient spirit spoke with a lot of common sense. The woman then had Tea exit so Joey could get ready for his party. The teenager did so eagerly under her command.

Jona and Joey switched. The blond breathed gulps of air to remind himself of how it felt to have air in his lungs. He wasn't suffocating when he was pulled out of his own body, but the blond appreciated the feel of breathing. "Mind warnin' me before doin' that?"

Jona gave him an apologetic expression.** "I'm sorry. I hate to see a beauty in distress over me."**

Joey understood. He hated making others worry about him, too. He hated those worried expressions because it hurt his pride. He can take care of himself, and he would never mean to hurt anyone unless there were ultimatums of how one had to be hurt by him.

After changing, Joey got into his pick up truck that was sent by Seto, who took care of it, and drove the trio to the park where everyone had everything ready on three park benches.

Tristan, Yugi, Duke, Kiyoko, Ryou, Mr. Mutou, and Mokuba were there as expected. However, he was surprised to find Mai among them from wherever she left off to.

**"Maya."**

Joey suddenly felt himself overcome by a feeling he knew was grief. He understood of why Jona felt the way she did. Maya was her older sister back then, and it was obvious that she loved her so much by how she spoke fervently of her. The reincarnation felt her heart well up that even he ended up spilling tears uncontrollably.

"Joey?" Yugi approached him first when he saw the tears. "Are you okay?" He did a side glance which was directed at Jona who caught the look.

Joey wiped his tears away with the back of hand. "It's not me who's crying."

"What?" Duke found that incredibly weird. "What do you mean it's not you who's crying because you're the only person I see here who is."

"Yeah man." Tristan agreed. "What's wrong?"

Joey gave them a big grin. "There's something I gotta tell ya, and Kiyoko, you might be the only one who gets it so I'll explain it to ya a little better after I explain to these guys." His agent was confused, and got more confused when her client began explaining of what happened during the coma.

All of them seemed to understand perfectly which baffled her because she thought the duelist was experiencing some mental problems that aligned with split personalities or schizophrenia. She decided that even if the blond were to explain to her later, she wouldn't understand. So she decided not to bother understanding, and have him hide this from the world.

When Joey was done, his friends were amazed and worried. Though Yugi said cheerily, "That's awesome Joey!"

**"And you can see me."** Jona stood in front of the shorter male, bend forward in front of him and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Yugi fell back with a crimson blush on his face. Joey went wide eyed as he yelled, "Yugi can see you?!"

"What?!" Everyone cried though their surprise wilted immediately since there were plausible theories to explain this.

The tri-colored haired teen gave a sheepish grin. "Yup. It looks like I can. It's a pleasure to meet you princess Jona. Might I add that you look really lovely."

"No fair!" Mokuba cried out. "I wanna see how she looks like, too!" The others agreed.

**"You could dress up like me."** Jona suggested to her reincarnation.** "We have the same face, and I can do my own hair and makeup. Finding a costume wouldn't be a problem."**

Joey agreed, "Hey, she said that I can just dress up like her. We pretty much have the same face."

"That would be wonderful," Ryou said. "But we didn't order your friend food for nothing. Let's enjoy ourselves first. You must be famished."

Due to all the excitement of Jona, Joey only realized now of how hungry he was that his stomach growled upset. He embarrassingly chuckled at everyone's amused smiles.

And so they enjoyed their meals on the soft grass so they could sit in a circle. Mokuba sat right next to him. Joey felt awkward because the young teen sat really close so he could place his hand on his for a few lingering seconds, and then retract it to eat. The blond knew that the black haired boy was just reminding him of their arranged relationship. It wasn't a romantic gesture, but a somewhat comforting one for Joey to know Mokuba still loved him in a way.

Mai sat on the other side of him and asked, "So why were you crying, Joey? You said it wasn't you so it must be Jona. Did she see some familiar faces?"

"Uhm," Joey looked to the spirit who was floating at the center of the circle. _"Should I tell them or you?"_

**"May you please do it. I'm afraid I may cry again if I were to speak to her."** The spirit floated over to the female duelist elegantly and then kneeled before her. An expression of pure, doting love focused completely on her. Her hand hovers slightly over the woman's own since she cannot touch anyone but Joey. She also turned that expression towards Tristan.** "Everyone else as well. Mai is my Maya. Mokuba is my Anpu. Tea is my Mana. Yugi is my Atem. Ryou is the corrupted thief. Your Tristan... Hoda remained a great loyal friend to the end of my death. We had our differences, but I love his genuineness."**

Joey nodded, _"Yeah, Tristan and me are the same. He was the first person who ever saw anything in a street punk like me. If it weren't for him, I would've went to rintama high, but he convinced me that domino high was betta. He always watched out for me. He's not the person I'd look to for motivation, but I know I can count on him to have my back on a physical fight. I didn't fend myself off all those gangs alone who got pissy just cuz I wore a skirt."_

Jona sighed sweetly, **"The first time that I met Hoda was when I was posing as a male streetrat along the streets of Egypt to see how the shadows of the city worked. The guards were loyal to their duties. However, none were as good as Hoda. I talked to him during his time of duty, and he shooed me off at first since he was as stiff as a wet log, but we were able to become friends after we had a dispute about the court system and the prisons. If the millenium items could take away the evil inside of someone, then why were there still cell prisoners? We debated, and I helped him on his duties so we could continue debating about other things, and then before I knew it, we were brothers."**

Joey understood that she meant that they became best friends, but they were as close as loving and protective brothers. The others were wondering of why it was taking Joey so long to answer, and Yugi replied that the two were talking.

The actor asked, _"Can Yug' hear my thoughts?"_

**"No. You have noticed that my lips haven't moved, haven't you?"** Her pink lips are closed as her hazel amber eyes practically spoke for her.** "We are speaking telepathically. And I believe you should answer their question about why my emotions had lead you to cry as well." **

The young man nodded, "Sorry about that. Jona was crying earlier cuz you look exactly like her big sister, Mai. We were siblings back then."

The group was shocked except for Kiyoko who just played along. "Wow," Tristan exclaimed, "It's a good thing you guys never dated huh! That would've been awkward as hell!"

"Did she know the pharaoh?" Mokuba asked.

"Yeah, she told me she knew him since she was a teenager. They're eight years apart, right..." Joey said questionably with a side look for confirmation, and then nodded, "Yeah, eight years apart, and Jona went to Egypt about three to ten times a year depending on whether Greece was good or not. She was actually supposed to marry Atem when he was going to be pharaoh, but we all knew what happened."

That left a pause for awkward amusement because Yugi was Atem's reincarnation and Joey was Jona's reincarnation. Their past lives were the opposite gender, so there was room to assume...

"So was Jona and Atem a thing?" Mai asked, "Or was it an arranged marriage?"

Joey looked to Jona for a right answer to say. He knew that Atem wasn't her true love, but he didn't knew the minor details. The princess answered him that it was an arranged marriage between true friends. Joey told them, and that put a warm smile on Yugi's face.

"So wait," Duke said, "So was the arrangement off, or did she marry the one who became pharaoh next after Atem? He was Seto's reincarnation right? How did that go?"

"I don't know if she did gets married or not, and she doesn't want to tell me yet. But she does have a true love from Egypt."

Mr. Muto had a contemplative expression on his face, so Joey asked if he had a question.

"Actually Joseph, I do. But I prefer not to ask unless princess Jona feels comfortable with giving more information. It's a rather...private question if I may say so myself." The man left himself to be an enigma.

Jona floated over to him with a twinkle in her eyes. Her lips moved, **"So you are reincarnated as well, Shimon Muran. Always by Atem's side to teach him the most important morals in life. But I'm glad to see that your perverted attitude hasn't influenced him."**

Yugi retorted, "Grandpa wouldn't influence me like that. He's a really swell guy."

His grandpa perked up to having been talked about. "She's talking about me? Man, I wish I could see how you truly look right now unlike the portraits of you in urns! This whole time I thought you were a brunette by the black paint used for your hair, but you're actually a blond! It's a great discovery to make on the greatest princess ever known!"

"Greatest princess?" Tea cocked her head curiously like the others.

Yugi's grandpa covered his mouth as if he told a secret, but then he quickly removed to clear his throat and then say, "Truth is I know a bit about princess Jona. But you kids must keep this an absolute secret! If you tell anyone, then I shall curse you all!"

The kids found that doubtful, but then really wanted to know so promised not to tell anyone.

The old man cleared his throat again, and then revealed, "Every archeologist, even Pegasus, knows about her, but she's not put into a history book or even on the internet since there was little known about her existence at all. So the story of princess Jona is practically a well-kept secret between true archeologist! The only thing known about her was that she was a princess of Athens who was sent to Egypt on a mission of peace. However, her existence is doubtful, despite having been the sister of Queen Maya, considering that we could not find her grave. If she had married Pharaoh Seth, then she should have been buried in a tomb next to him. There are only two urns in existence. One that depicts her journey to Egypt to bring peace. And the other depicts her death. From what can be seen from the urn, Jona died by the crushing powerful blows between dark and light duel monsters. Whom was leading the war are not known, but it was clear that Jona sacrificed her own life in order to negate both attacks."

"But why negate them?" Mokuba asked. "Why didn't she help the light side?"

"That's what I would like to know, but unless Jona is comfortable, I'll ask her that question later." The grandpa crossed his arms to give a firm nod of his head.

Joey noticed that Jona looked troubled when she floated away to sit in front of him and Mai. _"Did it bring bad memories, Jona?"_

The woman didn't move her lips. **"Yes. But I'm alright. Thanks to your memories, I know Egypt and Greece prospered."**

_"And Atem is with everyone now in the afterlife. Everyone ended up great, and you'll be with them, too. I believe that whatever the afterlife is, you will be with your family and true love because how can a place call itself paradise when it can't give you what you want."_

**"Encouraging words, Joey."** She kissed his cheek. **"I appreciate your wisdom."**

_"Just being a friend."_ Both blonds shared a moment of glee with each other for the afterlife waiting for them.

Then Ryou thought that since the food is nearly gone, they should try dressing Joey to give them a close picture of how Jona looks like. Kiyoko had to leave to do work. Joey promised to send her a picture and explained the situation to her, but she reasoned that it didn't matter since she was a logical person. The blond actor knew well by what she meant since a certain psycho CEO was the same.

So on, the group went to a store where the girls and Joey and Yugi looked for the perfect chiton dress and sandals that looked closest to what Jona was wearing. When they found it, they moved to the jewelry section for a tiara.

When they got what they needed, they headed to Mai's duplex apartment, and Joey used her room to do his own makeup and hair since Jona could possess him and do it herself. And while the woman was fixing up Joey, she began to use his voice to sing.

_"Wow, so that's how I sound when I sing good!"_ Joey felt giddy as he floated over her and watched her put his thick mid-length blond hair in twists. One can definitely tell that he wasn't going to suffer from thin hair and balding by how rich and thick his hair looked like now.

"I can feel it in your lungs that you haven't sang like this. We need to practice on strengthening them, and have you control them to make yourself sound more presentable while in the mean time you could teach me how to cook. I have not eaten for generations if you haven't noticed."

_"Wanna try the modern greek food? I can whip something fast and easy for ya to learn! And we can make lots of food since my stomach is a bottomless pit!"_

Jona giggled with his voice which made him sound husky and charming. The spirit began applying makeup. They bought kohl makeup, so she used the eyeliner to create a thin precise rimmed line. "I would love that Joey. You should know my Joey, in ancient Greece, women abstained from using too much makeup. To put on lipstick or more meant that you were a prostitute. Natural beauty and a big bottom was smiled upon."

She began dressing herself in the clothing, and then stood in front of a body length mirror. "Perfect."

_"Are you sure? Cuz you have boobs."_

"I suppose Pyrrhus can help. Pyrrhus?" Then suddenly her shadow wrapped around her before giving the male's body what looked like a real set of breasts! Joey was dumbstruck. The woman explained, "Pyrrhus is my fused duel monster partner, so he can manipulate his shape to fit mine."

_"So red eyes and me can do that!"_

"Only in a duel with a certain set of cards. You did not go through the experience that I have which I am thankful for, yet due to that, you have limited sets of abilities that you can do with your own red eyes unless you have died."

_"What?! Aw, man! But I don't wanna die! And what if it doesn't work?!" _The child-like reincarnation moped with his legs and arms crossed above the air.

"Simply be grateful for being together." The princess supplied.

The third ranked duelists crossed his arms behind his head. He looked up at the ceiling as he thought of red eyes. He heard his dragon screech within his heart. His dragon's flame warming his chest._ "And I am. I love red eyes, but it would've been so cool if I could create my own boobs instead of relying on fake ones!" _Joey fondled his own chest to sadly find it slightly flat. He had muscle but they weren't round and soft!

"But you certainly still have the butt. This butt would've put you in Aphrodite's favor." The blond turned around to ogle their butt that had gave the dress a curve. She stood sideways, bend down to have her palms rest against her knees to see the roundness at its full bloom.

Then there was a knock. "Are you done in there, yet?" Tristan shouted from behind the door.

"Yes!" Jona shouted back, and then faced Joey. "Would you like to escort me, my darling?"

The young man smirked as he stood beside her. She rose her forearm slightly for Joey to take with his. The two sauntered out of the room where everyone looked right at her to see her dressed almost accurately.

Everyone was at awe by how stunning their friend looked, but what caught their attention the most were his boobs!

Mai had seen breasts from fake to real, and felt a bit hysterical to see what looked impossibly real to her eyes! "Are those real?!"

Jona put her hands on the male's hips. "Not at all. I simply used my Pyrrhus to give this body the shape of my own breasts." The low sexy tone that came out of that tenor voice made it obvious to the others that it was the spirit talking to them. She smirked directly at Mokuba, full knowing of his relationship with her reincarnation. "Are they to your liking?"

The black-haired teen blushed hotly, and was thankful that no one caught him. He mentally beat himself to remember that Joey and him were just dating so they didn't end up foolishly dating the wrong people! But now he felt his heart beating fast and his face heated.

Mr. Muto seemed to be the one who was the most excited because he was running around Jona like a child to look at every angle. "I-is this really really how you looked like in the past?! Wow, this is ground-breaking discovery! The great princess Jona! I must tell Hawkins! It's going to blow his mind! Yugi, you better be taking lots of pictures from every angle!"

"R-right." Yugi had his cellphone out and excused himself as he was circling her as well.

Jona patted the old man's head. "You may go ahead and tell all your other friends, but please do warn them to not bother me and my Joey too much with tedious questions. I will only answer their questions through you of course."

"Really?!" The old man jumped in excitement, but then that threw his back. "ARGH! My back!"

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried out while the others laughed.

"Don't worry, I got it." Jona did a quick strike with her hand.

"I'm cured!" The man stood up all rejuvinated. "You are a goddess, princess Jona!"

"Thank you, Solomon Muto." She made Joey's face give a serene expression that had hearts in the room thumping.

Duke then announced, "As fun as this all is, I need to get back to work."

Tristan immediately offered, "I'll go with you." And then he realized something. "Oh right, we forgot to tell them!" By the look on his face, it was something big.

_"Tell us?"_ Joey took back his body. "Tell us what?" Everyone noticed the switch since the comforting and motherly atmosphere changed to a more lighter child-like one.

"Should I tell them, or you?" The brunet asked his green-eyed hot boyfriend.

"Doesn't matter. But I think you should considering that you did the last time." Duke did forgive his taller boyfriend, but he was holding the brunet to it to not do it again.

Tristan understood, and then wrapped his arm around Duke as he declared, "We're getting married next year!"

"What?!" Everyone said, but Joey's own was the loudest! He spluttered, "Youguysaregettingmarried?! When did this happen?! Wait! Were you planning to get married even when I was in the coma?! Who was going to be your best man?!"

"Calm down." Duke ordered. "We weren't going to get married unless you stayed in a coma for more than five years, but now that you're awake, we can get married early. It just makes sense since we love each other, we tolerate each other, our family and friends accept our relationship, we barely fight at all, even if we did, we figure out without all that drama, and Tristan decided to take on the job of being my bodyguard after going through some classes."

Tristan then helpfully summarized and added to it, "In short, we're in love, so getting hitched, and you're all invited to the wedding. We're gonna have it at New York where Joey's tour ends next year, so Tea can make it!"

"Aw, thanks guys!" The brunette felt fortunate to have such loyal friends!

Joey then wrapped his arm around Tristan's neck with a big grin, "Congratulations buddy! So who's gonna be your best man?"

"Of course it's you man, but you have to promise to let me be your best man for your wedding."

"Sure! I won't let you down! Sorry Yug'."

The tri-colored hair teen cheerily smiled. "That's okay, guys. Though I would love to have Joey to be my best man, too, when I get married." He then blushed a crimson red. "And it'd be no surprise if it'll take place in New York, too."

Tea blushed a crimson red as well.

Everyone's eyeswidened except for Mr. Muto, Ryou, and Joey who's lost at the discreet news.

"No way! You and Tea are dating!" Tristan shouted.

"What?" The blond actor was finally shocked and then felt some sort of small lump finally taken off his shoulders! "Are you serious?! Yugi finally did it?! You confessed?! Was everyone getting hitched while I was in the coma?!"

Yugi awkwardly laughed. "It just sort of happened."

Tea explained, "Yugi here was trying to cheer me up, and then he built up the courage to confess to me."

"Aw, so I'm the reason you two are finally together! Don't I feel special! Maybe I should go into a coma again, and see what happens next. Who knows, maybe someone, even Kaiba, will get a girlfriend!"

Tristan snorted, "As if that's ever going to happen. I mean seriously. The guy is a walking cyborg. I even bet he's a virgin!"

"He's not, though." Joey blurted. Everyone stared at him. Including Mokuba. Especially Mokuba. He's right there, staring at his boyfriend so hard that he's practically using his mind to psych punch him or poke him really hard. Jona was just intrigued.

The actor realized what he just said, and quickly tried to recover the situation, "I-I mean, he told me when we were talking back at that Halloween ball! It just came up! There's nothin' weird about that!" Mokuba was now looking at him with a strange look that just screamed, 'Oh god, my mind wants to go there, but my whole entire being says no.' The boy tried hard not to picture Joey dealing with an experience Kaiba teaching him the ways in bed. No. No matter how much Mokuba wants Seto to be with Joey, he was not going to fantasize about it.

"Seto's not a virgin." Duke tried the fact on his tongue. It tasted of mild interests. "One learns new things when Joey's around. I'm really glad that you woke up, man." They grabbed each others hands in a manly way as the CEO was making his way out.

"You, too. Bye Tris'." The two did a fist bump.

Yugi and the others except Mai had to leave as well. They all gave him a big hug while Mr. Muto gave him a handshake and wise words to be careful next time like a responsible and caring adult. Joey truly felt grateful for that since Mr. Muto was one of the very few older men that he's had to be proud of him when his father couldn't be there for him.

"Bye, gramps. And don't mind sending me a list of questions. I'll answer them on email and have Yugi send it to you if you're still slow on the new technology."

"Hey, I might be old, but I can get by the times unlike you whippersnappers!" The old man grinned. "And I definitely will send you a whole bunch of them! And I don't mind if you answer little by little. It'll just make me more excited by the minute in my life for when I get them! And princess Jona can finally be acknowledged as not just a mythical character!"

Jona asked Joey for permission for his body. The male blond granted it to her, so she took over, and then told the old man sweetly, "It will be a pleasure to be revived among the names of my love ones who remain immortal by word."

"You can count on me to make sure of that. Or I'll try before my last beating heart." Solomon gave a wink, and then left.

That left Mai, Joey and Jona alone in the apartment. "Joey..." The older duelist started.

Joey returned to his body. "Yeah, Mai?"

The woman gave him a smirk. "I don't wanna get all mushy on you, but I'm happy to know that we were sisters back then. I know I have the looks for a queen, but I can't see a traveler like myself to stay in one place and handle political snobs or dictators."

Jona took over, "And that was how Maya was, sweet Mai. She never liked her predetermined role. However, she learned to accept it in time. She had her agnorasis and perpetiea to accomplish doing so."

"By the sound of your tone, Jona, you aren't going to tell me more. Am I right?"

"Yes. It's too soon for me to share such memories, but I will tell you and Joey this, we have a third sister. Her name was Selene. The past incarnation of Joey's younger sister, Serenity."

_"What? No way! How many siblings do you have?"_

**"Three, Joey. But I will tell you of my third one when the time is right."**

Mai smirked wider. "Huh, so I'm the only one out of this family." Realizing what she said, her smirk turned into a reluctant sad smile.

Jona quickly comforted her. "I supposed the fates decided to give you the privilege to finally travel without held down for the sake of family, or feel guilty over leaving them." She took one of Mai's hands to place her cheek upon her palm. An enamored smile gracing her features. "Is this relationship not preferable?"

The female traveler smiled softly. Joey rubbed his eyes for a moment because this was the first time he saw Mai ever smile so softly before. Jona really knew how to melt people. Yet, that soft smile soon turned into a confident smirk. "My, Jona, may I say that you are one hell of a woman. And you're right. If I had been born with those two, and been part of that messy divorce, it would've been one hell of a life I couldn't be satisfied living in. Not that living the life I had before meeting this blockhead was all that great..." Then that smirk faltered to a frown as her brows furrowed by regret.

Joey took his body and placed his palms on Mai's cheeks. "Hey Mai," The woman knew it was him now. "Don't think back to that stuff. It's all in the past, and you'll always be my friend no matter what."

The woman looked into his determined eyes to see that unwavering flame. Mai cursed herself for letting herself fall to depression so easily. She shook it off, and then hugged the goofball. "It's really nice to see, Joey. I swear, if we could fall in love with each other, not that I want to, and I had to chose between you and Valon, it'd definitely be you. However, if you still want him..."

Joey went red. "NO! I don't want that biker street punk! And he's straight!"

"He's bisexual."

"Wha..."

"So you still got a chance!" Mai left all her supporting cheer up in the atmosphere between them. A cheer that Joey definitely didn't want at the moment!

"Shut up! I don't like him! I already told you that I said that so the girls at school would get off my back about Kaiba!"

"Whatever you say hun." She winked at him. Jona stifled her laughter as she fell in love with the situation. Her and Maya were somewhat similar. Mai acted a lot like Maya except the woman was far more vicious due to her frustrations to being a royal. Jona was able to travel unlike her due to being the second oldest daughter which gave her far more freedom from being expected to be queen, and the lectures of their mother.

Jona was open to taking the queen title herself. However, their mother was against it, and Selene didn't have the traits to be a queen for Greece. So Maya was left burdened to be a queen until her old age death. But now, here she was. Reincarnated into a free-spirited, strong woman. She thanked any of her many gods of who was responsible for reincarnation.

After the dispute, Joey left to his own apartment to see that it needed a few dusting since it was left alone for over a week from cleaning. He would do that tomorrow. His work was to start again by next week where Kiyoko had him model for another magazine who was going to ask him more trivial questions about himself.

And then his phone rang. He checked the caller I.D. to see that it was Mokuba calling. Jona had excused herself to go fly around Domino City with Pyrrhus. It turned out that unlike Atem who was held to one spot due to the millennium puzzle, she had the freedom to move around like a ghost without boundaries.

And so after she left, Joey answered as he plopped down on his bed. "Yo, Mokuba! Sorry about our date last week."

"It's okay. You had a valid reason." The kid joked. "Anyway, I figured that we could talk in private like this. I still have questions if you don't mind."

"Shoot, kid."

Mokuba was peeved. "I'm not a kid." He sulked. "You should know better than to call your boyfriend a kid."

Joey felt a weird tingle on his back as if someone placed a tech bug on his clothes and was hearing into his conversation and would kill them when they realize that he's dating a minor. But the blond felt like teasing the punk. "Then stop acting like it."

"How am I acting like a kid?!"

"By shouting like that!"

"I'm not shouting!" Mokuba pouted angrily. Joey was playing with him. He grumbled, "Stop teasing me. I'm trying to be serious."

The blond stopped himself from letting out even a chuckle. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry."

Mokuba knew that was a dishonest apology, but nothing to argue over about so he accepted it. "So I knew that Seto was the first one to see you wake up. How did that go?"

Joey grimaced. He did not want to think about that morning. And why was Kaiba there at such an early time? Didn't he work early? Today wasn't a school day where he felt like he had the liberty to skip school, and not feel subjected to go to work. The actor groaned, but also felt strangely happy that he was the one who was there. It meant that Seto actually visited him when he didn't have to. Yeah, it was out of guilt, but Kaiba and guilt don't add up, so Joey felt special to have what seemed unlikely to happen, it had happened to him.

"Not very good, Mokuba. He tried to smother me with my pillow when he saw me wakeup!"

"What?" The younger Kaiba could not picture that happening. Yeah, Seto can be cold, but he's not one to pull a cruel thing like that. Even if it was a joke.

"Y'heard me! He tried to smother me! That jerk! When I see him, he's gonna get an earful out of me!"

"I'm sure he just panicked because he really didn't expect you to wake up so soon."

"That doesn't give him an excuse to attempt to kill me!"

Mokuba knew that this wasn't going to get anywhere so was going to let his boyfriend and brother figure out this themselves. So he changed topic, "So I guess you aren't going to tell Seto about Jona. He would just think you're crazy anyway."

Joey snorted, "It's Kaiba. He still doesn't believe Atem was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh spirit who had come back to the living after five thousand of years to save the world. I don't think he will believe me when I tell him that because of his briefcase, I suddenly opened a door that connected me to my past self, Jona, who is a Grecian princess of Athens who lived around the same time around his past self and Atem's time."

"It does sound a bit crazy if you hear it from a common stranger's perspective."

"But Kaiba's not a common stranger. He's a narrow-minded asshole who won't believe in anything that he can't figure out. It's the same for all smart asses and control freaks. In this case, your brother is both."

"Okay. Okay. You're still talking about my older brother, Joey."

"Sorry. I'm still pissed about the attempted murder. I should sue him!" Joey was just joking. "There are cameras in that hospital and witnesses who heard me scream! I can do this!"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So what is Jona doing now?"

"She's flying around Domino City with Pyrrhus to take in the sights as spirits, so they won't be seen and cause a scene or anything."

"She can do that?" Mokuba meant the part of her being able to leave Joey's side at a longer range than usual.

"Yeah. She's a ghost who was released when I opened the door and I'm the only one who can touch her."

"No fair! I wanna see her like you and Yugi can! I'm your boyfriend! Shouldn't I have have perks?!" The pre-teen whined.

Joey rolled his own eyes. "Hey, you can get to know her better at our next date. I'm gonna be busy for the next two weeks to get my popularity status up again. And Tristan's birthday is on April 19. So somewhere on the twenties."

"Sorry, no good. Since you're awake, Seto planned to do the charity gala that we were supposed to do this week. I guess we'll just have to wait on May, but then you'll have to be working on final exams and prom and all that stuff."

"Do you want to come as my date for prom then? It won't be that weird since the media knows we're friends. We can just play it as me wanting to spend time with all my guy friends, and I won't get jealous if you wanna flirt and dance with some hotties." Joey really wasn't going to be jealous. However, when he remembered about their plan for the charity gala, his heart sank. Kaiba wouldn't come to the prom, but he would spend the night with his soulmate.

"That sounds nice." Mokuba interrupted his depressing thoughts. "But if it comes to slow dancing, I'm slow dancing with you."

Joey snorted at the thought of slow dancing with someone shorter than him. Mokuba had grown an inch taller but he was still two inches shorter. "Whatever you say squirt." Mokuba growled loudly. Joey just grinned. The blond rolled onto his side as he breathed in contentment. "Where are you now?"

"I'm at home snacking on chips."

Joey moaned at the idea of eating again.

Mokuba held back a snort of his own. Unknown to him, Seto Kaiba had entered the kitchen for a snack, but then he heard his little brother teased, "What? Does that turn you on? Food."

The blond shrugged, and replied, "So what if it is? A way to a man's heart is through his stomach y'know."

"I'll remember that when I decide on our anniversary gift. How about on our next date, whenever that is, we'll go to an all-you-can-eat-buffet that has a great view over Domino city. We'll laugh and chat, and then afterwards, we'll go out on a walk but if it's raining we'll-"

"If it's not too hard, we can still go out on that walk. Enjoy the rain. Have a cheesy kiss." Joey was just playing along for giggles.

"If you want that. But if it's raining hard, then I'll take you to Kaiba land so I can take you to the Kaiba space dome, and we'll lie down on a tempurpedic bed as we watch the stars, planets and a lot of other pretty, cool space stuff happen. And if you get hungry again, you animal, I'll have pastry desserts and marshmallows at the ready for you."

"I'd like to have the devil chocolate cake which I'll have the chocolate frosting on my finger and have it on your nose, and you'd have to try and lick it off with your tongue." Joey snorted at how corny he felt at the moment.

"I'd like to see you try that, too."

"Hey, I can lick my nose unlike you shortstuff!"

"Stop with the short comments! You don't like it when people give you pet names so stop with that already."

"Alright! I'm sorry! Can't help blurting out these words."

"Hmph. Now you just ruined the mood."

"Aw, don't say that. I love you my snookums bear."

Mokuba snorted, "I love you, too, Joey."

His older brother behind him, who had been listening amusedly this whole time, froze. Seto could not believe of what he had just heard. He wasn't an idiot to doubt his hearing, so he knew that Mokuba had just said that he loved Joey. The brunet watched as his little brother hung up the phone after saying goodbye for whatever reason that Wheeler had to do.

Mokuba still remained clueless to his big brother being behind him since he was now playing a game on his phone while eating his chips.

Seto could not get a word out. He wanted to question, Mokuba! But he was too shocked, and needed time to arrange his thoughts because something completely brain bawling confusing was stirring up inside! He hated having emotions that went off his range to comprehend so he quickly walked away.

._._._.

_Seven year old Atem was sitting at the table where the king of Athens, King Kleophas, was speaking with his father about a formed alliance. The boy listened to them men speak as if they were long time friends when the truth was that this was the first time that they met. He watched everyone at the table or standing behind his father with an observant eye._

_His father was sitting at the end of the table. The king of Athens was at his left while he was at his right. Beside him was the five high priest. The sixth one, priest Shimon, was standing beside his father so he may give advice and inform of any events that had been slipped from the pharaoh's ear._

_The people beside the king of Athens was his family. His wife, Queen Kalligeneia, was deceptively beautiful with her auburn tied up with her crown, purple eyes striking due to her makeup, and she was oddly pale like a ghost in comparison with his people's complexion._

_The next person was eighteen year old princess Maya with her husband, general Nikola. General Nikola's hair was fascinating to look at since the brown locks stuck up like his but far more wildly. He was the only one among the group who had blue eyes while the rest not looked upon yet had brown eyes._

_Atem looked at the second princess, princess Selene, who had auburn hair like her mother, but brown kind eyes like her father. She was the same age as him, and looked very pretty to him. But he was not very interested in her in a romantic way. He doubted he'd feel any different if they were to grow up._

_And then there was a man standing next to the king who was the speaking about plans and such for the treaties. It turned out that the Athenians had a government that they call democracy where anyone could be a leader of a certain issue, but they had to win the people's approval first. The monarchy was simply the ones who would make sure that decisions were to be made fair and have it written on stone or parchment._

_At the end of the meeting, Atem could tell that it was obvious that the two kings were able to come upon a good solution for both of their countries which involved with the nile for the sake of trades and improving economy._

_"How about our children get to know each other?" The king suggested. "In the future, they're the ones who'll have to uphold our treaty. If they do not like each other now, they have plenty time to learn to tolerate each other in time."_

_His father chuckled, "I love your humor, King Kleophas."_

_"As I to you for your good sense of it, pharaoh Aknamkanon!"_

_"And must I say that you have such beautiful daughters, but I heard that you had three. Where is your third daughter?"_

_"Jona?" The man gave a hearty chuckle. "She ran off during the morning to greet her friends."_

_"She has friends here in Egypt?"_

_"Of course! My daughter had been traveling the seas since she was six! She began going alone when she was eight."_

_"Isn't that dangerous?"_

_"Not for my Jona. She's a warrior. She had traveled the seas along with my cargo boats, and had always come back with such fascinating stories! I got to know more about your city more than I expected. That's why I knew that when the issues of alliances came, I knew I could trust you first."_

_"Then I would love to meet your daughter."_

_Atem noticed the queen's face darken when the pharaoh spoke those words. She used her tongue, "There really is no need to meet her. You have far more important duties to attend to than to meet some seafarer girl."_

_That gave her strange looks from his father, his priests and himself._

_The king cleared his throat. He remedied the situation, "And we have no idea where she could be right now. But if she were to leave Egypt, she would tell me first, so let's hope that you may have your chance._

_That chance was going to happen soon as Jona was running around the streets as a man. "Jono!" Hoda shouted as the two ran after a man who they caught about to murder another man for his wife who planned it with the killer. "Be careful!"_

_The woman leaped from a sack of rice and then ran across the roofs of houses before leaping up into the sky to land her foot onto the killer. The man was knocked out. "K.O.!" She shouted and hooped in her deep manly voice._

_"Would you kindly keep that down, streetrat?" A young voice quipped at her. She looked to the sound to see a thirteen-year-old Seth. "People actually prefer the quiet silence after a hard day from work unlike a lazy filth like you."_

_Jona resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Seth was kind, but to a point. He still held himself to a high standard among others due to knowing that he was a genius. He hates streetrats since he believed them to simply be lazy people who has no one to blame but themselves. That was true, but to a point. There are others who have been wronged by the people they trusted, or they have grown up without direction._

_The fifteen-year-old did not despise him for his attitude since she knew the story about him losing both his parents. The loss of his mother was far more tragic since his village was raided. However, she knew that that sort of tragedy didn't give the boy an excuse from being disciplined. It was what he needed, but she wasn't the one to give it to him since she had her own duties to attend._

_Though, she gave him a smirk. Her face was dirty by soot that she applied on her own face, and she covered herself in rags to not be identified. "I am sorry oh great Set." She gave him a mock bow. That made the kid snort and reluctantly smiled. She approached him and asked with mock humbleness, "Can I ruffle your hair with my hand my future priest?"_

_"You may not." Seto gave a disgusted expression which made her silently laugh._

_"I'm gonna give you one anyway!" She ran her soot cover hands through his hair, and ruffled it._

_"Hey! Don't treat me like a kid! I am a man now!" Seth glared at her when he was able to remove her hand. "And streetrats like you shouldn't be touching the commoners! Who knows what diseases you have!"_

_"Whatever. But I should get something out of making you smile." The woman dressed like a poor man grinned down at him._

_Seth crossed his arms and huffed, "What smile?"_

_"Why did the man not want his wife swimming in the nile?"_

_The pre-teen arched an eyebrow at this, but answered anyway. "Because she can't swim?"_

_Jona's grin widened, "No. It's because he didn't want the fishermen to mistake her for a hippo."_

_Seth stared at her, and tried not to smile, but then he gave in and smiled. "Alright, you got me. Here." He gave her a silver coin._

_"Thank you oh great Set." She bowed, walked away and then put the silver coin into a beggar's bowl._

_Seth saw this and was confused, and thought that the streetrat, Jono, was just too stupid to realize that he needed that coin to survive. He saw the guard, Hoda, run towards him, and complain about running off without him. The brunet watched them bicker before leaving for his studies._

_Jona ignored Hoda's complaints, and said out of the blue, "I wonder how my dad's and your pharaoh's meeting is going."_

_"Don't change the subject, and shouldn't you be there?!"_

_"You're absolutely right, Hoda. So arrest this man and the victim's wife for questioning and court. I have to go!" She ran off._

_"Hey wait! Jono!"_

_She giggled as she ran like a free spirit. She reached the palace, and snuck in as she removed her rags and wiped her face away by using the ponds water in the palace garden. She heard footsteps approach her as she washed her face. _

_"Jona?" She heard a sweet, young girl say._

_She looked over her face, and smiled sweetly at the two kids. One that was her little half-sister and the other assumed to be the future pharaoh, Atem._

_Atem was surprised to find the missing princess before him._

_When she faced them, he saw her as beautiful. Her blond hair cascaded down like liquid gold over her shoulders. Her eyes gleamed like amber stones that were painted with stories. She was also well endowed like her mother and older sister, but she was a bit thicker, not in a chubby way. It looked like muscles as if she had worked out like a man._

_"Hey, Selly! Is this your future lover?" The teenager joked._

_Selene showed her a bewildered expression. "No." She replied forthrightly. "Our dads just wanted us to get to know each other. Where were you? The pharaoh wanted to meet you."_

_"Surely, just for politeness." Jona shrugged one shoulder, and then grinned at Atem. "So great next pharaoh, know any good games?"_

_"Games?" The was a random topic to talk about between distant royals._

_"Yeah. You kids must be bored out of your minds from the meeting, so let's play a game!" Jona turned towards a bush, and called out, "Hey! I know you're there! Got a ball with you!"_

_"You knew I was here?!" Mana popped out from the bushes._

_"Of course I knew. You made so much sounds like a hippo."_

_"Hey! I'm not that loud! My prince and your sister couldn't hear me!"_

_"That's cuz they weren't payin' attention! So got a ball with you?"_

_Mana glared at her with a pout shortly, and then replied, "Yeah, but you got to say please!"_

_"Please!" Jona gave her brightest grin which got the little girl to smile brightly back._

_"Okay!" She said some magical gibberish. But instead of a ball popping out, a large, poisonous snake appeared instead. The children screamed when the snake struck out after them._

_"Prince!" A male teen, Mahad, shouted._

_They thought that they were too late, but then the snake's head was grabbed by the head, and was left helpless in the the grip. "You really need to learn your magic spells correctly." Jona said frankly as she threw the snake far. "Here." The blond said gibberish, and a ball appeared before them._

_"Whoa, you can do magic, too?!" Mana grabbed for the ball to feel its authenticity._

_Jona placed her hands on her hips. Eyes gleaming with mild pride. A perfect picture of humility in front of the egyptian prince. "Your country's not the only place who knows how to do magic."_

_"Prince!" Mahad called out again in panic, and spotted Atem simply standing unharmed. "Are you and the princess alright?"_

_"Yes, Mahad. Thanks to the brave princess Jona."_

_"Princess Jona?" Mahad looked to the only person he didn't meet before to be amazed to meet the missing Athenian royal. He quickly bowed. "Princess Jona! It's an hono-"_

_"Yeah, yeah, no need for pleasantries around me." The teenager interrupted. "I'm not your traditional princess."_

_"It's true." Selene looked up at her sister with twinkling eyes. "My sister fought in a war when another country threatened our city. She' one of the best soldiers."_

_"A princess fighting in a war?" Atem was greatly intrigued. "Isn't it a man's role to fight for his country?"_

_Jona answered, "It's expected of a man to go to war, yet anyone who is willing to lay down his or her life for her country is open to do so." She took the ball from Mana, "So, who's up for a game?!"_

_The children and teenagers played together while the king, queen, pharaoh and the priest watched them from afar._

_"She's quite an odd child." The pharaoh commented without the intention to be offensive. "Did she truly go to war, King Kleophas?"  
><em>

_"Yes. She snuck away into the army as a man, and bought our country to victory. Everyone was surprised to discover her true identity when she stood up to be acknowledged for her bravery!"_

_The queen snapped, "She made us worry needlessly, and risk her life without a care for our word."_

_"You would have told her to leave, anyway." quipped the king._

_Maya frowned as she watched her half-sister be a child. A dangerous envy in her eyes._

Jona stared at the ancient egyptian tablets that told the story of Atem and Seth's prophecy. She sat there with Pyrrhus behind her so she could lie back and reminisce.

"My past is so colorful. Princess, bastard, warrior, queen, monster, friend , sister, daughter...mother." She stood up, pressed her fingertips against her lips and pressed each of her kissed hands onto the two men on the tablet. "I love you...And I'm sorry."

._._._.

A/N: Yeah, just putting the layout of who Jona is. She's gonna play more of a mother or conscience role for Joey. Her own story will come out in little stories in between when it's appropriate.


	10. Chapter 10

Kaiba calmed down a few hours after hearing his little brother say 'I love you' to Wheeler who woke up from a coma through inexplainable means. He figured that it was just coincidence that he kissed Joey at the same time that the blond decided to wake up. And that Mokuba wasn't actually dating Joey. They were just affectionately teasing each other over the phone.

He was satisfied by these logical thoughts that he returned to his usual stoic self.

However, there was one thing that bugged him incessantly.

He kissed Joey. He kissed Joey Wheeler on the mouth. He knew that he may have been desperate at the moment, so he felt deeply ashamed of himself for displaying weakness, even though there was no one to witness it.

He was sure that he wasn't in love with the idiot. It was just guilt playing tricks on his heart.

However, when he went to school, he saw the blond walking idly across the hallway with his fanclub around him. Seto felt himself become short of breath as he stared into those hazel orbs accidentally. Joey glared aflamed with indignation at him momentarily before smiling at one of his fans to answer her question.

The brunet trailed down his focus to the male's lips. He remembered of how soft and warm they were. The CEO tried not to imagine of how hot they would feel if the blond was to reciprocate if they had the chance to kiss again. He mentally berated himself for doing that; despite the fact that he's been having sex dreams of the blond.

Although, those dreams were different now. It felt like if he thought sexually of the actor, he'd be actually putting more sentimentality. He would not simply dream of the blond feeling pleasure, but something more. Something skin deep and terrifying when the dreamed male began to speak words of love.

He had whores who did that during intercourse, and Seto would ignore them. Yet, if he would dream of Joey saying those words, he'd feel flustered and harder than usual. It was like a new, uncomfortable, yet addicting high when he would masturbate in the shower.

While he was having this complication during class, Joey was writing in his notebook.

_He doesn't dare smile at me during class_

_Cuz he's an ass_

_He has no idea that I'm dating his brother_

_It's not love, but it helps ward my heart from strangers_

_Including friends_

_I bet you're wondering who, but this is where the poem ends_

Joey knew that poem was mediocre compared to his last ones, but it was a fresh start to write poems with more meaning.

Jona looked down at the poem, and then looked over at Seto. She had noticed the brunet glancing at Joey with some odd expressions that she's familiar with, but she didn't want to discuss it with her reincarntion. Joey will be with her true love because it was meant to be.

**"I must say that your poems are either comical or endearing."** She said with her lips closed so she would not bother Yugi.

_"It's somethin' ta pass the time. I thought I could be a writer if I don't pass for a cook back then, but then now I'm an actor. Weird, huh."_

**"Quite. And you have quite the busy schedule awaiting you."**

Joey mentally groaned,_ "Don't remind me. I have to go on another magazine interview, and stuff."_ He mentally sighed, _"I also got to finish up the homework stuff that I've been missin'. But the good news is that I get to spend time with Mokuba to finish them."_

**"I honestly never imagined that I would date Anpu in the next life. Even if it is for other means than romanticism. He grew up to be a grand priest for the next pharaoh after Pharaoh Seth passed away."**

_"Did Anpu and Seth like each other like they do now?"_

**"He treated Anpu like his own son when the two met and realized their similarities. They were both orphaned geniuses."**

_"Have you ever talked to Seth as princess Jona?"_

**"I stuck around Egypt every fall and winter seasons, and then moved back to Athens ever spring and summer seasons just like Persephone. I was very close to Atem whenever I visited as Princess Jona. We would encounter each other from time to time, and...our talks were quite...creative. I called him a nut and he called me a pig."**

_"He called you a pig?"_

**"Yes. As Jono, he called me a rat. As Jona, he called me a pig for the fact that he sees me eating most of the time, and I was thicker than other girls. Not fat, but very muscular, and curvy. When he sees me train with the other warriors, he calls me a brute. And I'd call him a fagot."**

_"Whoa!"_

**"I meant the stick. Because he was so skinny."**

_"Oh."_ Joey felt sheepish. "_Sorry."_

**"It's my fault. I should've said a better word, but I literally used that word before it became a term in slangs."**

_"Yeah. Gay used to mean happy, but now people will get the wrong idea if you say that you're gay."_

**"And I used to sleep with women."**

_"You did?!"_

**"My first time was with a woman, because I had to sleep with one in order to prove that I was a man to my fellow warriors in order to hide my princess status. It became interesting when they discovered I was a woman afterwards. Though it was accepted easily since we had no terms for a person's sexual preferences. The point was simply to be a good lover and make sure the male or female wasn't below the age of twelve. Since the age was short, and it was considered appropriate at that age, there was no mental problems for men who grew up with sexual experience at such a young age unlike your society today. It wasn't perfect since rape did happen, and I had to handle the matter since I was able to tell the truth from a lie."**

Joey was not sure of how to carry on with that topic, so changed the conversation. _"So were you and Seth at least friends like me and Seto?"_

**"Yes. When he became pharaoh, we argued a lot plenty of times about his kingship. Unlike everyone else, I wasn't afraid to be verbal against him even when he had the power to behead me. That sort of attitude gave me a seat among the priests without a millenium item."**

_"Were you ever in love with him?"_ Joey didn't mean to ask that question, but blurted it out anyway._ "I mean...yeah, I like Seto, but obviously he couldn't be your true love. Y'anno, if you jus' tell me who your true love was, then it'd be easier for me."_

**"And make you miss out on spending quality time with other potential lovers?"** She grinned. **"Never."**

Joey blushed. His lips squeezed together as he tried not to smile or frown. _"I'm not going to sleep with other people. I would rather wait...until my wedding night."_

**"Then perhaps you should get a promise ring to clue them in on your virgin plan."**

The blond's face went completely red. He mentally yelled, _"Don't call it a virgin plan!"_

**"You're right. I should have called it 'Post-first real cock in you plan'. Dildos and lube have truly evolved over the centuries."** She gave a titillating smirk to her reincarnation who went completely red in the face. Yes, he masturbated with dildos because he prefered to be a bottom.

And yes, he's been using Seto in his head to arouse him as he penetrated himself. Before thinking of Seto, he simply wanted a man who was able to hold him down and take him with a flourishing need to release the both the inner tension within them at once.

He preferred to be held down on the bed because it was exciting to have a strong or, even better, determined man who wanted to claim his body out of love and need for him.

Joey wasn't sure at all of how Seto would do him, but he was sure that the cold CEO would be completely dominant over him by how much he's a control freak, and he may talk dirty to him since the asshole already enjoys insulting him. He might not mind though.

The blond shook his head to stop himself from imagining of such things! He was not getting hard in the middle of class, and then remembering that Jona could possibly see his thoughts, though the woman promised to keep her bounderies, he softened.

Seto found Joey's expressions to be intriguing. The blond had been doing different facial expressions as if someone dared stroke his thigh but then there was no one who did that.

Yugi looked over at Joey and Jona. He knew that they were communicating in a different way that kept him away from their conversations. He had a sense that Ryou was also aware of her presence, but preferred to keep silent about the matter due to not having a pleasant experience with spirits before. Jona was a good person, but the platinum blond would rather not be suddenly dragged into any adventures that would suddenly have him possessed again. He would like to actually live his own life, thank you very much.

Then the class was interrupted by an office staff who informed Joey Wheeler that he was excused for an important appointment. Joey was confused because Kiyoko would've called him beforehand about this, but he didn't question it, and left.

He walked towards the opening of the school for a car, but what he got instead was a familiar man riding a motorbike. The stranger used a very familiar Aussie accent. "Ready for your appointment, Wheeler?"

"Valon?! What are you doing here?!" Joey used his guy voice as backed away with legs and arms spread out in shock, but then quickly straightened himself and cleared his throat to revert back to his female voice. He had to stay in character! "I mean, why are you doing here? I just missed a week of school, and I can't go missing another day since it's my senior year!"

The biker removed his helment. His wild spikes popping out like a starfish balloon. He flashed his coy smile. "Aw, but Wheeler, we haven't seen each other for quite awhile now. And is that anyway to talk to your crush, shiela."

"Don't shiela me!" Joey steamed with a red streak across his face. "I already told you that was a lie!"

"Wow, your loud."

"Because ya had me walk out in the middle of the class, when I have to take this seriously!"

**"But you weren't listening."**

_"Not now Jona."_

"Oh I see now." Joey arched an eyebrow when he swore he heard Valon's voice drop to a sorrowful tone. "I'm not one of your friends. That's why you don't want to spend time with me, and rather slave yourself to some institution that barely gives you what you truly need."

The ex-gangster felt his heart guiltily throb. "No! That's not what I meant! It's just that you could've called me first! I have to work right after school, and a ton of homework to go through. If you had called first, then I would've considered ditching school today and dress nice, and maybe cook you somethin' nice since it's been a long time Valon."

"Aaaaw! You do love me!"

Joey scowled at him. "Don't make me punch you. You have heard about how I fought off assholes left and right before I was crowned the queen of dice monsters don't you!"

The Aussie chuckled. "How can I not with how famous you're becoming. And I must say that you're more spunky upclose. I can see that you're not photoshopped so much like the other people on the magazines."

Joey didn't catch his seductive tone at all. "I can't help it if I'm really good looking." He had his fists before his big goofy grin as he giggled childishly. And then rearranged himself to appear more lady-like. "So got a plan for us today cuz if ya don't, I'm going back to class."

"But the best part of a date is the unknown!"

"Date?"

**"Date?"**

Jona and Joey looked at each other for a split second and then back at Valon. "I-I thought you were in lo-love with Mai!"

"I am, and always will be." Valon said sincerely that would've made the average girl feel swooned. And then perked up his tone, "But doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself with a beauty. So," He winked, "What do you say Wheeler? Fancy a friend a date?"

"Uhm..." Joey didn't know of what to say. He knew Valon had eyes for Mai, but then he felt that if he accepted, then he would put himself in a position to fall for Valon. He reasoned that he wouldn't fall for Valon, but then remembering that Seto was destined for Kisandra, the blond felt that he needed to open himself up to other guys, but then he became afraid.

Jona felt her reincarnation's apprehension, so reminded, **"You're dating Mokuba remember."**

"Ri-right! I have a boyfriend!" Not a real one, but he can't date Valon without Mokuba's permission!

Valon looked stunned to hear this. "Are you serious, mate? I haven't heard of this in the magazines or news."

"Tha-that's because we wanted to keep things private, and I'm not goin' to tell you no matter what you do or say." Joey placed his fists on his hips to stand for his point.

"But-"

"Nuh uh! No buts!" Joey snapped having his arms for an X for emphasis. "My boyfriend, who I love very much, doesn't wanna go public, so I'm keepin' it that way. Yer mah friend, Valon, but not even Yugi or the others know about my relationship, so just be lucky you know I'm in a relationship at all."

"Hm...Well, I do know another way to get the truth out of you, Wheeler."

"Hm?"

Valon smirked sexily. His wild, stormy, blue eyes concentrated solely on the actor. Joey felt seduced and wrapped in a tornado for meeting them. "A duel."

"Huh?"

"And I mean duel monsters. If I win, you tell me who's your boyfriend. But if I lose, then I'll do whatever you'd like for a day. So do we got ourselves a deal, or not?"

Joey hadn't used duel monsters in a while since he used his luck and energy into dice monsters now. He could be a bit rusty now.

**"Accept." **Jona told him.

And Joey didn't hesitate to agree. "Right! I accept your challenge! But my deck and duel disk is back at my place." The tornado that captured him was dispersed when the flames in his eyes lit him up with a soaring passion.

A passion that made the ex-henchman grin. "Then get on back." He handed Joey a helmet, and then put his own on.

Joey put his own on, and got on back. He wrapped his arms around the man's muscular frame. "Hold on tight sweetie."

"Just drive." demanded Joey.

._._._.

"Seto, do you think you could ever fall in love with Joey?" Mokuba asked his brother out of the blue during work.

His older brother paused his writing. Eyes widened, but quickly closed to be composed from revealing any emotions. "No." He replied bluntly. "How could it ever be possible that I could fall for that idiotic mutt?"

"Because he's the only person you've ever let be your friend."

"By accident. I only accepted afterwards to use it to my advantage. Now, it's simply a useless relationship at the moment until its coincidental that it may proved useful in the future."

Mokuba squinted his eyes at his brother. That sounded logical, yet he knew that his brother must have other feelings about this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had truly thought through that gift basket that he had him sent to Joey when he went to the hospital after the last gang fight that Joey got into.

"So you'd never fall in love with Joey even if he...let's say was in love with you."

The CEO's heart throbbed at the idea. Joey in love with him. It wasn't impossible. It was hard not to fall in love with him when everyone else was. But they fell in love with him for superficial reasons. Joey didn't care about how rich he was, and won't overlook his flaws. The stupid blond would rant and scold at him, but also made him laugh. At times, Joey could be annoying and impossible to believe exist like how he was able to even be allowed in any high esteemed duel tournaments. It also intrigued him that no matter how much he insulted him, the blond refused, no matter what, to not break in front of him.

He then remembered that night at the park when Joey bawled his heart out after receiving a call from his mother who disowned him twice and prevented him from seeing his sister. Kaiba's blood boiled remembering that night. He hated it. He hated seeing the puppy break down. He had made others break down to tears, and either be amused or not. But when Joey did, indignation overflowed throughout his entire being. Seto wanted to grab Joey's mother by the throat and squeeze as he made the woman accept that she was nothing. That she was the unforgivable existence to ever walked on the earth.

"Seto?" Mokuba interrupted his cold, meticulous thoughts.

"Huh?" The bitterness the older brother felt drained away.

"I asked if you wouldn't fall in love with Joey even though he loves you."

Seto considered the question. His eyes softening at the thought of Joey being loved and happy, but then grew slightly cold like a soft winter night when he crisply remembered of the type of person he was. "If the puppy is in love with me, then I would think nothing of it. What Joey needs is someone who can be there for him like his cheerleaders. I am too busy taking care of you and Kaiba corp."

Mokuba was silent. He had just heard his brother call Joey by his first name and 'puppy'. His older brother also gave a thoughtful answer for Joey's well being. Mokuba wanted to push for a real answer, but then the secretary buzzed in to inform the elder Kaiba that his meeting with the Labelle family.

"Got it." Seto stood up, and then told Mokuba, "I'll be home by ten."

"Sure. Oh, can Joey come to the charity gala that we have at the end up April?"

"Whatever. Just tell that monkey to not ruin it or cause a scene like last time."

"Thanks Seto."

._._._.

**"You are mine in my mind, my heart, my soul...They were words I whispered and cried out to Bakura in the past..."** Jona spoke with a distant voice as she laid floating in air. "**The spirit that possessed you was only a part of Bakura. Only the part of him filled with hatred. Not the true Bakura. Your past life."** Jona told Ryou. The two were at the library where the platinum blond had free time to study. Yugi was with them.

"So what sort of person was my past life?" The teen asked as he flipped a page of the book he was currently reading.

Jona rose her upper lip slightly as she had her mind travel through the past. She reminded herself to not let herself make false gold out of them. She replied modestly, **"Kind. He grew up among thieves and rebels. He was taught of how to steal, and his mentors taught him that he was doing the right thing. So the first time we met, I crushed his reality when I opened his eyes to the pain he delivered when he dared to steal and hurt innocent lives. We were the same age when we met. We were ten. Three years after he had lost his village, Kul Elna."** Her tone became saddened.

Yugi frowned, "It must be hard to know that he attacked Atem when he became pharaoh."

**"Oh no. The past you traveled through was not the real past. Zorc in Bakura's form had manipulated Atem's memories, and had he won, the past would have been changed into what you saw. But he didn't, so the true past did not change."**

Ryou put down his book to fully acknowledge the presence of the female spirit.

**"In the true past, Bakura was not easily possessed by Zorc. The monster tried to do so, but I kept the bastard away from him. So the man had to possess other people filled with hatred to get to the pharaoh's castle and possessed Aknadin, and then get to Priest Seth. Eventually he was able to control Bakura because only he was able to release him. Zorc knew that I wouldn't be there during the spring and summer, so took his chance during those two seasons to attack. Even when I knew that Egypt was in trouble, I couldn't leave Greece because my mother was creating chaos with a new found power that she was given by Zorc. Zorc and her came upon a deal to make sure I couldn't intervene. Too many lives from both countries were taken during that time...Because Egypt had failing predecessors."** A dangerous venom dripped from her last words.

Despite that, Yugi defended the predecessors, "Atem and Seth's fathers were just doing the best that they could to protect Egypt."

**"I know, dear Yugi." **Jona spoke with an apologetic tone as she sat down on a chair.** "It's just that I hate reluctant sacrifices. I did receive Pyrrhus because of both sacrificial rituals, but I was lucky to have him. If I didn't, it wouldn't have been a happy memory to die with."**

Ryou reached out his hand to pretend that he could hold hers. Jona smiled at the sentimentality as she placed her hand on top of his. **"Bakura was a kind, misguided boy when we met. He was still a thief afterwards, but was more like Robinhood in your fictional books. Only stole from the rich, and helped give a bit of what he had to the poor. He had your good heart Ryou. He had the strength to resist Zorc, but had a moment of weakness due to a loss of a friend of ours."** Her heart fluttering voice made the moment between the three of them feel like the two boys were listening to the stories from their virtuous grandmother who had aged gracefully. **"But his manners on the other hand!"** She became boisterous! "**Now that's a whole different story! He cussed like a sailor and the first thing he wanted to learn from a different language was what were the cuss words! And let me tell you about his string of one night stands before he finally decided to settle down with one girl. You have no idea what I went through to make sure he didn't make any of the girls pregnant. But if he did," **She had her finger up in the air waving it as if she was reading to slap someone with it or finger poke them to death. **"I would've made sure he became a father or else I would've put him in the dungeon for neglect of duty! I'm royal! I can do that! Democracy would've been on my side!"**

That bought the atmosphere between them up to a humorous point.

While she was there, Joey was at his apartment in his room while Valon was waiting for him outside the door. "Oi! Are you done in there! It's been fifteen minutes already!"

"Shut up! I have to chose my spring outfit cautiously! As a star, I have to look my absolute best!"

The blue-eyed biker hottie could not believe his ears! He had no idea Joey would become like other girls over clothes like this! He opened the door to find that the blond was in front of the mirror holding two blouses by their hangers. A concentrated, fierce look on his face. A face he's seen on the blond's face when trying to chose a good card to play with a half-made strategy.

Joey glared at him. "Hey! I didn't say I was ready yet!"

"You haven't even changed out of your school uniform! You have got to be freakin' kidding me! Just choose one and let's go!"

"No! You don't understand Valon! Unlike you, I actually have to consider how I look in public! Even in my guy clothes!" Joey glared at his two blouses and then threw them on his bed, and then walked over to his closet to look at the

"I thought you didn't care what other people thought!"

"Yeah, but that was before I became famous for looking hot as a cross dresser!" He glared viciously at the other duelist. He pointed his finely manicured finger at him. "And I told you that you should've called me first! This wouldn't be a problem! I had my interview outfit, my going to study with Mokuba outfit, and my other outfits planned for the next days depending on the weather and everything! I also think about my hairystyles, makeup, manicure and pedicure appointments, money budget, time schedule, and more! You have no idea of what I go through to make sure I look good every day to make sure I impress my fans and make it seem easy when it's really not! So you better keep your yap shut or I'm gonna pulverize you mute! Got me!"

Valon's mouth snapped shut. He believed he just got himself into a woman's wrath! The worst kind of wrath a man can get himself into where he's all confused, and without balls at the moment!

Joey thought he got the message clearly, so turned back to his closet to look through his clothes. "Besides I don't go to work until three since my interview is at four, and then after going through two or three hours of work, I have to get to Mokuba's place to do my homework which will take until like nine at best since I missed a week of homework. And then go straight home to have my beauty sleep."

"Wow...you really changed Wheeler."

"Yeah, well, I'm still the same, just that I have a lot more responsibilities. You just happened to catch me at my worst at the moment. I seriously had no idea how hard women had it to stay pretty. You have no idea of how early I have to wake up so I could do my makeup and hair for school. A lot of my fans think that I really improved in my looks now that I took my looks seriously."

"But you already looked incredible before you became serious with this stuff."

"Yeah, but I can't be wearing the same outfits, and the same makeup. I gotta be a chameleon! Shakalakalalala!" Joey jumped in front of the mirrror dramatically with one leg stretched out to the side and the other bended as he held up a hanger holding a dress.

"What the frig?! Bwuhahahaha!" Valon laughed and continued to do so when Joey was dancing stupidly around him while spouting out nonsense about being a chameleon or a butterfly with some Darwin theory as the actor checked through his closet for clothes. The biker had to hold his side as he slowly slid to the ground.

._._._.

Kaiba Seto (it feels weird to speak it that way.) was at the lobby of a hotel where the Labelle CEO wanted to speak with him. It was to be a simple meeting lasting no longer than an hour at best unless the person could peak his interest. He went over to the lobby and the receptionist pointed him to the direction of the bar.

He entered there, and was told by the bar tender that she was waiting for him at the booth at the corner. He strode over there indifferently like a professional, but that soon changed when the woman's face came to view.

The woman sat elegantly at the booth. She was wearing a white dress shirt with a blue suit jacket and pencil skirt. Her platinum blond hair was tied up into a front braid to bun hairystle. Her complexion was pale, and her eyes...Seto felt a deja vu when she looked at him while in the same time he also felt a clearing...a light.

When she smiled, he did see a sign of any superficialness or naivetey to that modest smile. "It's sensational to meet you Mr. Kaiba." She spoke professionally, although there was a hint of kindness which Kaiba oddly didn't mind. He felt weird. He knew that things would be different once he sat. He took his seat anyway.

"Let's get straight to business. What is it that your company wants and why we should give it to you, Ms. Kisandra Labelle?"

"Yes, straight to business." her smile didn't falter. It didn't unnerve the Kaiba corp CEO as he thought it should have. It was more like a pleasant feeling to see that smile not falter. "I would like to ask your hand in marriage to unite our companies together."

"Heh. Shouldn't you ask me out for dinner first?" Kaiba asked rhetorically.

Kisandra giggled. "If we were average people, but we are not Mr. Kaiba. We are CEOs of grand companies. You are number one and I am number two. If we were to unite, then we could forever remain as number one together since we both hold a majority of the corporate power. Add each other together, and it would be an undenying whole. Please, do not think that I do not think that you can't remain number one. Far from it. I simply wish to make common sense of the rivaling situation between us, and unite so we can make great uses of our resources to build up our companies together to their even more into their unlimited potential. So do you wish to answer now, or have time to think of this engagement."

Kaiba was impressed by how persuasive this girl was. She sounded sincere and professional at the same time. It was almost terrifying, but also exhilirating. The Labelle corporation did hold a lot of power that the Kaiba corporation would have to work hard for years to gain from them, but to simply unite would make things easier. And Kisandra wasn't hard on the eyes.

But Kaiba wasn't one to easily go into marriage. "I agree with you Ms. Labelle that uniting our companies would be exceptional, but then why do it through marriage? Don't tell me that you have fallen for me before getting to know me first."

The woman smirked. It wasn't an unpleasant or mocking smirk. It was more of a mirthful smirk. "Of course not, Mr. Kaiba. You must understand that as a single, powerful and young woman who is the same age as you would have plenty of suitors. You must understand of how tedious that can be with not only family and the media pushing the issue, but also our business partners as well."

"You have no idea."

She leaned forward having her elbows on the table and fingers intertwined in front of her, but not hiding her lips. "Then let's get rid of these burdens by being engaged."

"Don't you think that announcing our engagement would seem to rash to the public?"

"Yes, so let us _date_ for a few months. We simply have to see each other for at least once or twice a week outside of what may appear as business meetings. And let us appear to our friends as if we are slowly falling in love. You do not have to act differently. Just say a few pretty words about our relationship. And then we'll be engaged, married within a month, and then be back to our professional selves in no time. And for the...more private matters of our needs needing to be met..." Now she plays a more naughty smirk on her face. "We must be truly discreet on that matter."

Kaiba huffed. "Of course. I hate that sort of publicity."

Kisara changed her smirk to a pleasant smile as she leaned back. "So is that a yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

Seto thought of this for a split second. He was convinced, and he didn't hate the woman's presence. It was too soon to presume that he would tolerate her, but then her proposal was too good to deny. It would lessen the complications in his love life smoothly. "Yes. I agree to marry you, but we will have this agreement documented under my jurisdiction."

"With my edits of course, and we must both agree on the terms." She reached out her hand. "Can we agree on those terms, Mr. Kaiba?"

It was only fair to have her say in it. He smirked. "Yes." They shook on it.

._._._.

"Oh yeah, I won!" Joey did his victory dance as he chanted that he won after defeating Valon in a duel. The two dueled at the docks where they didn't expect anyone to find them.

Valon can't believe he was defeated by a guy who spent almost an hour picking out one outfit that he was going to change out of in about four hours.

The blond was wearing dark denim jeans, a green blouse, mid calf brown boots, a necklace with a brown teardrop shaped pendant and earrings. It was really simple but he had to admit that Joey fitted those jeans nicely, and he did look great to look out as he shook that booty in front of him.

"So you can't know who my boyfriend is! Whoo!" Joey relished his victory, and then it passed. He approached the biker. "So what are we doing next?!"

"Go cart racing?"

"Sweet! Let's go!"

"You sure you don't have to change your outfit for the ocassion?" Valon teased which earned him a kick to the back of his knee.

"I must say that you hadn't lost a bit of your spunk the last time I saw you."

"The last time you saw me, you were trying to kill me for Mai."

"Still haven't gotten over that huh? I said I was sorry didn't I."

"No. You didn't. But I forgave you, anyway. Just that you let things end that way, y'know. So don't blame me for bringing that up when that's how we ended things between us until now."

"Then it's all my fault. Then how about we make some nice memories together mate?" The blue-eyed wild hottie questioned seductively with a sneaky hand holding Joey's waist.

The cross dresser punched his ribs, and continued to walk away as Valon stopped for a second to catch his bruised ribs. "Boyfriend." The male chimed and then saw Jona coming over to him. She told him about how she told the truth of the real Bakura to the two hikaris. Joey told her about how the duel went as he was driven by Valon to Kaiba land.

_"So did you meet a guy like Valon in the past?"_

**"Hmmm..."** The spirit had a suspicious, contemplative smile on her lips. **"I rather not say."**

_"What?! Why?!"_

**"Because I do not want you to miss your chance flirting with him!"**

_"I'm not gonna flirt with him."_

**"You already are."**

_"What?! How?!"_

**"You do that Joey. As a guy, it can pass of as friendly, but then as a girl, you are undeniably flirtatious!"**

_"I am not! How is it different if I'm a guy or a girl?! That's sexist?!"_

**"It's stereotypical. You see, when a guy flirts, they are obvious about it through trying to either act cool, almost indifferent, or blunt and romantic, or a little too sweet to pass off as just being friendly because in your society, a guy will not buy you what you want off the bat unless he has a crush on you. He won't do that for a friend, unless your close like a brother. But with girls, they become overly friendly and familiar with a guy which is what you do. You give off these vibes of wanting attention and willing to give it back as if just creating a world just for two."**

_"But I'm a guy! And what?! Does that mean I can't be friendly anymore?!"_

**"You can be friendly. It's just that you are over doing it."**

_"How am I over doing it?"_

**"You smile too affectionately. Your friends can pass that off as you being truly grateful to be with them, but to a guy like Valon, who you barely know as a friend, it can pass as you adoring him like his personality, muscles, cute hairstyle-"**

_"I get your point."_ Joey deadpanned. _"So I smile a bit too much. What else?"_

**"Well, other than you giving a bit too much attention, it's more of the fact that you make men fall for you."**

Joey slightly blushed._ "Wha-what do you mean?"_

**"Simple really. Your bright personality, strive for independence, and mountain of a rear, what man wouldn't want you? It's the same for Mai. She's a curvaceous, independent, smart, and strong, beautiful woman. But the difference is that you're easier."**

_"Excuse me?!"_

**"Let me rephrase that. I meant easier to love. It's like in your society's common use of comparison, Mai is the prom queen and you're the girl next door. Mai is the party girl while you're that person that a man can expect to see when they come home from a long day of work, and be pampered and loved without hesitation, but also detained from abusing it. You're like the perfect, potential housewife who can keep him from losing heart, and raise the children without him worrying since you strive to be independent and hardworking."**

Joey didn't know what to say or think. He felt like he's been complimented, but he couldn't see himself as someone staying at home cleaning and cooking, but with the added picture of raising kids, and being the one person that a loving and hard working husband would always look forward to for a sliver of happiness, it made him think of Seto and what their life could be.

That happy, white-fenced, dream also had a spike aimed to his heart when he remembered the charity gala that was to come, and Kaiba was to be with his one true love.

He wrapped his arms tighter around Valon to feel some sort of comfort as the cold gust of wind blowing through his goosebumps made him shiver. The biker noticed yet waited to say something until they reached the amusement park.

The two finally came to the spot, and found parking since kids and teens were still at school. The two got off, and Valon took the opportunity to ask, "Somethin' buggin' ya on the way here?"

"Huh? Oh, uhm, not exactly." Joey removed his helmet and was glad that he fashion his blond hair in a braid so it wouldn't have gotten tangled in the wind. He glanced at Valon before looking away with an incredibly cute timid expression where the biker just wanted to take his lips and taste the sweetness of that timid beauty. "Just that..." He shyly looked over at him. "Does it seem like I flirt with you?"

Valon was surprised by that sudden query. "That's a funny question, but I can't exactly answer no. You're a fun guy, Wheeler. But seein' you in girl clothes sounding like a girl, but still having that spunky personality of yours, I gotta say I can't help falling in love. You and Mai are kinda the same, except your a bit more...easy."

"Y'mean easy to fall in love with right?" Joey indignantly inquired as the two walked through the park seeing that it was filled with little people who wanted to either celebrate a birthday, or spend their free time here.

"Of course, mate. I'm surprised you're still single after almost a year of not seein' ya."

"Well, nobody had tried to ask me out as Joey Wheeler, but as Josephine? You have no idea how many guys and girls wanna get with me now. And surprisingly it's mostly girls who want me! Isn't that weird. I thought a lot of guys who wouldn't mind the cross dressin' or like it would fill up my fanbase, but nope! Girls!"

"Well, you aren't much at first sight like a model would be, but you have the personality to appear even more beautiful than any model in a magazine. I hear that girls dig the personality more than guys, so I'm not surprised."

"You think I'm beautiful?" Joey didn't mean to have a tint of pink on his cheeks, and knew as a guy, he shouldn't be happy, but he can't help feeling happy that someone called him beautiful. Not because of just how he looks, but the connotation of it being skin deep.

"Well, yeah. The moment I finally got to see you in person, it pretty much took my breath away. I guess you were right about having to dress better than usual. I bet even if you wearing guy clothes, you would've taken my breath away if they were stylish."

Joey softly glared at him. "You sayin' I didn't have style?"

Valon grinned loving that look on Joey's face. "Not the way you do now, Joey."

"Neh, point taken." Joey couldn't help feeling his face blush a bit with pure, sugary, fairy dust happiness with being with Valon at the moment right now. He felt like wrapping his arms around one of his arms, but scolded himself for thinking such a girly thought! He was a guy, and he only did head locks! Like a regular guy! Yeah! (Loco)

Then the blond remembered of why he bought up this conversation. "Okay, so am I a flirt or not?"

"Yes, you accidentally are."

Joey groaned as he crossed his arms. His eyes concentrated on the ground as they continued to walk. "I don't wanna seem like a flirt to every other guy I meet! No wonder a lot of the guys I dueled at the DDD monsters tournament seemed so timid after battling me! They fell in love me! I swear I know they are following me on my blog right after Tea had me see all my followers and their funny usernames! I can tell by the names of which one belonged to the dice duelists I challenged because some of them actually used their usernames as their alias during the duel."

Valon chuckled. "You must feel really good knowing that everyone practically falls in love with you. I bet Yugi has some secret feelings for you."

"That was an accident! And I'm not letting this get to my head and turn me into an egotistical jack ass like Kaiba! It's just...it's unsettling to realize I've been accidently flirtin' with guys!"

"What's so unsettling? I'd be happy to know I had amazing sexual prowess before I knew it."

"Well, that's you. But I'm not comfortable with it, because I'm aware of the whole friendzone shit, and hey, I don't believe in that shit, but some guys do, and then we can't be friends because he'll hate me for not liking him when I do, just not in the way he wants me to. I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want to lose or stop making friends because of that. It's really unsettling." Joey looked down as he felt forlorn. He just hated the idea of not being able to socialize with people because of who he can't help being. He didn't want to hurt people without meaning to.

And then, he caught himself when he remembered he was speaking with someone he hadn't met in a while, and was already throwing this depressing matter at him. He quickly picked up his tone to say something, but then he was caught into a hug.

Joey was truly confused by the sentimental act. They stayed that way for about a minute before Valon stepped back. "Sorry, Joey. You just had this pitiful expression that I just had to hug you and take all the sadness away. Did it work?"

The blond arched an eyebrow at him. Confused eyes squinted and lips frowned. "Did what work? I'm not pitful?"

"No! No, of course not! I just meant that you looked really lonely when you talked about how you can't make friends now that you dress like a girl and guys will fall for you, and whatnot. I can see clearly now that you truly value friendship."

"You bet I do!" Joey said passionately but his passion faltered as he began to feel insecure. An insecurity that was super glue on him. It didn't feel uncomfortable, but it didn't belong. He laid his head against Valon's chest, and sighed, then groaned. "I don't know what's the matter with me." He picked his head right back up as he took back his passion again. He's not going to be a sorry case! "I shouldn't be so upset about this! I'll just be blunt with everyone! I just want to be friends with them!"

"And you have a boyfriend."

"That too! Now let's get on those go karts, and watch me win!"

Jona smiled proudly at her reincarnation. There was no need for drama.

Valon was intrigued. Joey was able to pick himself up, and move on. He didn't deny that he had a problem, and embraced it within five or ten minutes. That was different than Mai who would try to avoid or shrug off the problem if the problem could not be shouted or punched at.

The biker stopped himself from looking too deep into the comparison. He knew he was treading on eggshells if he dared to continue that trained of thought.

._._._.

"There." Kisandra Labelle signed her spot on the papers next to Seto Kaiba's signature. "Now we are dating under contract." She stood up from her seat at the meeting table in the kaiba corporation building. "I have a meeting to attend to. I cannot wait to see you at your charity gala. We will have to talk to each other and remain together for the night, and at least have one dance together. Preferably a slow dance. Should we kiss right now to spread rumors among your employees?"

Kaiba was amused. Kisandra and him had agreed and argued on terms of their dating life, and it wasn't at all annoying or frustrating. She was reasonable, intelligent, persuasive and beautiful. She was perfect. He should feel lucky to be married to such a woman, but then it was still too early to make such assumptions.

He stood up from his seat. "No, but perhaps at our next meeting, we should. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Labelle."

"Likewise." The two shared a handshake, and then the woman strode away.

He strode over to his office, and once he sat down at his own chair, he decided to check on his puppy's blog first. He wondered of what Joey was doing that he had to be taken out of school. He froze when he found new videos of the puppy having fun at Kaiba land with Valon! It wasn't his friends who could've filmed this, and there were different types of videos from different angles that caught parts of the puppy's _date_ with Valon.

He checked them to catch his puppy being hugged by Valon in the middle of the park, and then going go kart racing, bumper cars, pendulum ride, drop tower, hurricane, the roller coaster, the carousel, the love tunnel (!), and then to the arcade where the two played two-player games.

The one video that was getting the most views was when the cross dresser was on dance dance revolution. The damn idiot didn't notice of how seductive he was when he swayed his hips, or perhaps he did since Joey did not pull any stops when they tangoed, and was doing it on purpose. The blond did some mistakes, but he just laughed it up, and kept on dancing with Valon who looked worse compared to him.

Kaiba was not happy. He was not happy at all. Didn't Mokuba tell him that the crush was a fake?!

._._._.

"Are you cheating on me?" Mokuba asked Joey when the blond just came into the library.

Joey was surprised by the sudden accusing question. He slowly answered, "No. Why are you asking that?" He hesitantly took his seat beside the pre-teen.

"I guess you haven't seen them yet, but people were filming you with Valon at Kaibaland." Mokuba didn't sound upset or jealous. He was more curious than anything. "I thought you said you didn't have a crush with him."

"And I don't. Valon tricked the school into letting me out just so I could spend time with him. We haven't seen each other since the whole orichalcos incident, so I was just being a friend."

"I didn't know friends went into the love tunnel together."

"Okay, that one was on Valon who wanted to go in as a joke!" Joey wasn't defensive. He was saying his facts. "And I don't have a crush on him. We're just friends."

That was believable by how straightforward Joey was acting. Mokuba dropped the matter then. "So what kind of dress are you wearing for the charity gala?"

"I figured a red dress, greek style with my hair up and stuff. I don't want to look too good. Hey, am I flirterer?" The blond asked as he was taking out his homework and stuff.

Mokuba snorted, "A flirterer?"

"Yeah!" Joey wasn't joking around. He really wanted to get into this type of conversation before doing the work. "Jona pointed out that now that I dress like a girl, I act like a flirt. Is that why you fell for me?"

The pre-teen tried not to frown. "Well, I can't deny that you kind of do. You're a great guy, Joey, but I guess that when you dress up and sound like a girl while still being you, it comes off as something different. It's also like the time I accidentally called you, mom. You were still being Joey, but in the same time other things." Mokuba looked over the papers to see some math questions, english essay need to be written, a list of questions from environmental science and other subjects. They could finish it within a day or two.

"So I act not only like a flirt, but also a mom." Those weren't too bad, but they weren't titles that Joey wanted to be stuck with. The mom one seemed really off base for him with such a childish personality. "What else? A princess?"

**"Uh hum."**

_"Right..."_

"So where's Jona?" Mokuba dropped the 'flirterer' subject down. He was sure that Joey wouldn't make such a case about it later.

"She's here. Want to talk with her?"

"Uhm, not that I don't want to talk to her, but I think we should focus on your homework first. We'll be able to finish plenty before you have to leave."

Jona took over, her voice having Joey's female voice ask a little too sweetly, "What about spending the night here gifted Mokuba?" The pre-teen blushed hotly. The impish spirit enjoyed his reaction as Joey was snickering in the background. "Surely your brother wouldn't mind. Joey and him are dear friends, and I would love to sing a lullaby to you like I had done to your past incarnation Anpu."

Mokuba felt like his heart was already singing to how...utterly sexy Joey just became in a split second. Of course it was Jona in the works, but it's like the woman transformed Joey. He was in a trance when Jona made Joey's usually childish grin turn into a provocative smirk. But then he snapped himself out of it. "Wait! I had a past incarnation?! You met him?!"

Jona giggled huskily. She sat with a refined posture like a proper lady. "I practically raised him so I am not at all surprised that you would one day accidently call Joey as your mother. As kid like he can be, he also possesses the loving heart a mother would possess for their child. I should know. Your past incarnation, Anpu, was a genius like you. He was able to become a priest of the next pharaoh for pharaoh Seth and the next pharaoh afterwards."

"Who was the next pharaoh?"

"You should know by your history books, dear one. Anpu was an orphan like you, except he lost his parents during a war in Egypt."

"Really?" Mokuba looked down uncomfortably. "I lost my parents in an explosion. My dad was working on something dangerous while Seto and I were at a kid's sleepover. He accidently blew up the house with my mother in it."

"A tragic event." Jona said with an apologetic tone.

"Yeah, and our relatives took everything from us and put us in an orphanage. It was a crummy place, but it was better than having to live in a mansion with Gozaburo. He was an asshole who abused Seto and turned him into a bad guy. He's better now...I think."

"So may I sleep with you tonight?"

"WHA-WHAT?!" Mokuba was hot red that steam could've came out of his ears.

Jona couldn't convince herself to not pinch his cheeks. She remembered teasing Anpu like this except the teasings was about a green-haired male sharing a bed with him. "I meant in one of your guest rooms, but I supposed your bed would be much better."

"Tha-that isn't funny."

"Virgins." The woman silently snorted.

"What?"

"Nothing." Jona quickly switched places with Joey who gasped for air. He'll never get used to not breathing! Mokuba noticed the sudden change since Joey's eyes were wider and more vibrant. "So, how about we get crackin' on this homework, already!"

"Ye-yeah," The preteen calmed down his beating heart, but his face still stayed slightly red. "Uhm Joey,"

"Huh?"

"Uhm, if you want to sleep here tonight, I wouldn't mind. I'll have Roland bring your school uniform here without touching any of your stuff."

"Oh, sure. Jona and I'd love to spend more time with you!" Joey then gave him a kiss on the cheek for good measure of their fake dating relationship.

Mokuba fainted.

"Mokuba?!"

**"It seems like he couldn't handle my sexiness and your cuteness. Poor him."** Jona joked while Joey was shaking and slapping Mokuba to wake up with shouts of confusion.

After Mokuba woke up after a splash of water to the face by Joey's water bottle, the two got to get on the homework. After a few hours of doing it, Mokuba had to leave for the bathroom, and call one of his friends to make sure that they agreed on when to meet for their project.

Joey got up and stretched. He really felt stiff. "Man, I feel so numb."

"You have been sitting for too long."

"Yeah, I wonder how the Kaiba brothers can stand it! I feel so sleepy when I do it!"

"But you can't doze off on your tutor. How about we dance?"

"Yeah!" Joey pulled out his cellphone, and popped in his ears phones before looking over his choices. He decided 'It's your duty' by Lene Nystrom! He bobbed his head and then swayed his hair to the beat. He threw his hands around as he danced around. He closed his eyes when he moved to a spacious part of the library. He didn't care that Mokuba would find him dancing.

Jona danced along. Whatever Joey could hear through his ears, she could hear them when she wanted to. The ancient spirit was enchanted by how strange music had become. Joey opened his eyes to see how exotic she looked, so tried to copy her.

Unknown to him, Seto Kaiba was watching him. Kaiba Corp.'s work was easily done for the day, so the responsible older brother thought it was good to see Mokuba in person to ask if he wouldn't mind going out to eat dinner at a new restaurant or watch a new movie in their own private movie theater in the mansion.

But what he came to find was tantalizing as he looked at how Joey danced with his butt faced to him. And what was even worse was that Joey was wearing a flare skirt so he saw those amazing legs move and spread as high up as it could. And every time the blond twirled with his eyes closed, that skirt just rose slightly to reveal the slightest hint of something red.

When the music stopped, Joey cheered for his dance workout and twirled around with his eyes open! He screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! KAIBA!" Joey stepped back, but somehow lost maneuverable ability so tripped by his feet and fell down. His red panties exposed.

Kaiba blushed by the sight of them. Jona stifled her laughter as Joey scrambled up. The blond pointed a furious finger at the brunet who forced his blush away expertly. "What do you think yer doin' watchin' odder people dancin', huh?!"

"Hmph. I believe this is my library, idiot." Kaiba cooly laid sideways against a book case with his arms crossed.

Joey became embarrassed. That was true, so he knew he didn't have the right to oppose the brunet for watching. It was just dancing, but it's embarrassing to have his crush see that ridiculous side of him. "Whatever! I'm working!" He sat down on his chair and tried to focus on his papers, but was flushed and distracted that Seto was still in the same room.

Mokuba soon came into the room. "Oh Seto? What are you doing home so early?"

"Work at Kaiba corp. was slow, so I figured we could spend the rest of the day together if you're not busy." He looked from the younger Kaiba to the actor in the room.

Joey got that as his cue to leave. He didn't mind since Mokuba got to spend time with the workaholic. He quickly arranged his work, and put them away into his bag swiftly without crumpling them. He might have bented a few paper corners, but not too bad.

"I'll be going then." Joey began to walk. "I'll see you tomorrow Mokuba to finish the rest."

"Uh, are you sure?" Mokuba did gave Joey his word to help him.

"Yeah!" The blond gave a reassuring smile. "Now go make brotherly memories! I'm gonna hit the hay once I get back home!" As he passed by Mokuba, Jona took over for a moment to give him a wink and a poke to his cheek.

Mokuba flared up red which made Seto rose a questionable eyebrow, but thought it was just more of that affectionate teasing. The brothers watched the blond leave until he was out of sight.

Seto then admitted, "He has a big butt."

"What?" Mokuba was taken aback by the sudden confession.

Kaiba bluntly clarified, "The mutt's butt has gotten bigger over the months since he started feeding himself with better food thanks to his far better paying job."

"Wh-why are you telling me this?" Mokuba was amused, but in the same time perplexed of how to feel about this. He was happy that Kaiba was acknowledging Joey, but he didn't want to hear it this way!

"What? I was just saying a fact. Wheeler's butt has gotten bigger. I wonder if the media would notice too. What was he doing with that Valon guy anyway?" He asked with an accusing tone.

Mokuba didn't know if he knew his brother anymore. He never imagined a world where his brother would be observing Joey's butt, and telling him about it. He tried to sound normal as he replied, "They were just hanging out. Valon came to town, and wanted to spend time with Joey."

"I see, so they are not dating." Seto said that without realizing that he did.

Mokuba became concerned about his brother's health. "Seto, what's wrong? You're acting off."

"Hm? What are you talking about Mokuba? I'm completely fine."

"If you say so." Mokuba wanted to get out of this awkward situation quickly. "Let's go do something!" The black haired teen walked briskly out of the library.

Kaiba didn't know of what his little brother's problem was. He didn't think that he said anything strange. Okay, perhaps the butt part may have been, but then it was a big round fact that was bound to be discussed. The CEO was just being observant and honest like usual.

And that observation plagued his dreams. Kaiba couldn't help dreaming of his puppy returning back to his mansion into the middle of the night because the blond pretended to forget something, but actually wanted to play with Seto.

Seto couldn't think of a logical explanation of why a horny Joey would chose him to satisfy his needs, but screw logic! He wanted that ass! He wanted Joey to push him down on the bed so he could have his red clad ass rub against the CEO's crotch. The actor thrust those hips forward and back, and then side to side before going round and round as he removed his top.

Seto growled and switched positions so he was on top and thrusted his clothed cock against that soft round ass. He removed his own clothes as Joey remove his panties; the blond left only with his white socks on.

The CEO move down to rim that ass mercilessly. Grasping those ass cheeks as he made his pleasurable assault. Joey would cry out for either more or no more while touching himself. The brunet would make a move for the lube that he kept in his nightstand to hurriedly prepare the horny duelist in front of him.

He'll relish how he drives Joey more and more crazy before he's also nearly driven insane by how hot the damn amber eyed beauty was making him. He wanted to pound that ass hard and fast while also making an occasional slow thrust to feel the soft moist hole sucking him in.

And then like every other wet dream that was coming to a climax, Kaiba would wake up with a morning woody. He would sigh out through his nose, and then rub his eyes with his skinny deft fingers before getting up to make his way to the bathroom. Just another regular morning.

One would think the CEO would burst from sexual frustration after months of this, but he was Seto Kaiba who was the close epitome of self-control. And he knew that once the blond was too busy with his tour, the dreams would also go away. And then his lust for Joey would soon disappear as well. Besides, he may not mind having someone like Kisandra in those dreams instead.

._._._.

A/N: The next chapter is going to have a twist along with the charity gala happening. So both Seto and Joey will be pulled away from each other from ever falling in love, but it may not be permanent. You will have to read to find out!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I have to listen to disney music to keep in character with Ryou.

._._._.

While Joey was attending school, Jona was walking along the shores of the beach. She could see the bubbling white edges of the waves pass through her feet, and then shred away the sand beneath her. She could not feel anything as a ghost, but it didn't bother her. She still had the gift of sight and sound. She looked at a couple holding hands as they walked in front of her. The couple shared a kiss which made the spirit remember of a certain male.

Pyrrhus, who was as big as a dog, was walking beside her. He growled when he could sense her wistful feelings. The woman told him,** "I know I shouldn't make myself sad, but I cannot help the thorn I feel in my heart when I remember my moments of love. I will be with my true love again, but for some reason, I cannot move on. I have a duty here, and I believe it's to help Joey for whatever storm is galloping his way."** The woman then softly smiled. **"Galloping. Bakura and I always went horse back riding many times. We felt free." **

She visited her memories to see Bakura and her on horses and galloping along the sands of Egypt.

_"AH HA! C'mon Bakura, you lousy king of thieves! I'm winning!" Jona cried out as the two were racing towards an oasis._

_"Shut up you, whore! This horse is just too slow! You were the one who chose them, so you're cheating!" The thief growled. _

_"Whatever, you sore loser!"_

_Jona got to the oasis first, and jumped up from her horse into the pleasant lake. Bakura got off his horse, and crossed his arms. The woman had Pyrrhus come out and use his wing to create a wave of water that washed over the Egyptian._

_Bakura sat up with an irritated expression. The Grecian woman walked over to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Cheer up! Are you angry because Kisara is going to marry Seth? We should be happy for her."_

_"That's easy for you to say." The thief faced away with himself lying down sideways and his head on his palm. "You're used to seeing your sister getting hitched, and what's worse, Kisara's marrying the son of the man who massacred my village."_

_"Not that again! Let it go!" Jona shoved him lightly that Bakura barely moved from his position. Then she pointed out as a matter-of-factly, "I'm not married."_

_The purple-eyed thief snorted, "Yeah, your my sister: the whore."_

_Jona had Pyrrhus fired at his butt that had the thief jump into the lake. The woman followed after him, and hugged him. Her head lying against his shoulder. "I love you, Bakura."_

_Bakura said nothing as he returned the hug, and then the two shared a kiss. Bakura wasn't related to either Kisara or Jona, but he considered them to be his family._

._._._.

Joey groaned during art class. He shared the class with only Ryou, and the two were supposed to do a sketching project of each other.

Ryou asked in concern, "Is something wrong Joey? Am I too difficult to draw for you?"

The blond glared at his paper. "No, I just suck period."

"Oh I doubt-"

Joey showed his pathetic excuse of a drawing. Ryou stared at it, "Oh." He took the sketchpad in his hand, and then for a few seconds later, smiled, "Well if you look at it in a different perspective, you could make for a great abstract artist."

"Abstra- what? You mean like those paintings with those random shapes and lines?"

"Exactly! You surely put a lot of effort and expression into drawing me."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't supposed to be abstract." Joey grimaced childishly placing his hands on his stool.

"Cheer up, Joey." Ryou encouraged. "You cannot be anymore perfect than you already are."

The actor slightly blushed as he tried to stay modest inside. He then grinned, "Yeah, you're right Ryou! I cannot be good in everything I already do!" Then he curiously asked, "So what do you plan to do when you return to England?"

"Well," He grabbed for his own sketch pad, "I plan to be an artist. See." He flipped through some pages, and then showed a sketch of Joey sitting at his desk looking out of the window. The blond was amazed by how beautiful Ryou drew him. It was a black and white drawing, but the older teen drew him neatly and the shading made Joey seem like he was secretly an angel in disguise.

"Wow, Ryou, you're amazing." He looked through the other pages to notice that there was another drawing of him dueling in his guy clothes. Another one in his girl clothes instead twirling. There were other drawings that had him up close or not in different positions with different shadings and environments. "Gawd, I'm in every one of them. Do you keep separate sketch pads to draw each and every one of us in the gang? These are amazing!"

"We-well..." Joey looked over at Ryou to noticed that his cheeks were rosy red.

"What's wrong Ryou? Are you sick?"

"Far from it, Joey. It's just," The ex-hikari looked away to the table without any particular interest.

"What?" Joey closed in on his friend's face which had Ryou back away with a comedic grimace on his face as he kind of moved back. "C'mon man, don't hold out on your friend here."

"Well, y-you see, Joey." Ryou bought a fist to his lips as he cleared his throat. "It's just that you are a beautiful person to draw." He met Joey's eyes shyly. The golden blond was still clueless. "And I just don't mean externally. Skin-deep as well. I understand that you would never notice since my yami took over most of my time that I could spend with you, and there's no way you could see much in me since he-"

"Ryou," Joey spoke seriously that paused the ex-hikari's words. A hand placed on Ryou's shoulder that made the teen shiver. "I don't see you as the person who did all those terrible things. You're you, and I love that about you."

That calmed down Ryou who took a quick breath, and then confessed, "Joey, I will be very blunt with you. I like you romantically.'

Joey stared at him, and then repeated questionably, "Romantically?"

Ryou gave a happy smile. It felt good for him to finally let that out. "Yes, romantically. I understand if you are surprised because I have kept my feelings hidden rather well. But it's nice to finally say them to you."

Joey was deeply surprised. He never knew. He never even assumed. Ryou did propose to marry him, but it was a joke, and it was still a joke between them. But now, the blond was staring at his friend who apparently had feelings for him right now.

He wasn't sure of how to respond to that without making it seem like their friendship was over because he liked Ryou as a friend, and wanted to keep it that way between them. "Damn, I had no idea." He lightly laughed. "Does anyone else know?"

"No. I kept my feelings well hidden, and I am not satisfied with just confessing my feelings with you."

"You're not?" Joey was not sure of what else to expect. His mind seemed to always go blank.

"Yes, I am not. So," He held both of the cross dresser's hands. "Joey, are you free this Saturday?"

Joey answered without a second thought. He was just going with the flow. "Yeah. Kiyoko gave me the day off. Wait, are you asking me out on a date?!" the actor yelled, and the whole room looked over at them. "I mean, of course not since we are just friends!" He glared at their classmates. This was so going on so many gossip blogs. He can already see cameras at the ready. He threatened with a dark voice, "Anyone take a picture, and I'm gonna find you and sue you." Those cameras were immediately put away. The gossip will still flow, but at least he won't be annoyed with pictures.

"So I'm guessing Saturday will be a no." Ryou gave a sad, small smile.

Joey looked to the side with a contemplative expression and then shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

"Excuse me?" It was Ryou's turn to be baffled that Joey stifled his laughter.

"I said sure." Joey gave a bright grin that had his friends heart skip a beat. "Let's hang out this Saturday, but let's not call it a date. Let's consider it as a...day between friends with a kiss that might come at the end." Joey gave a cute wink

Ryou softly chuckled, "That sounds like a definition of a date to me."

Joey made a horse snort, "Fine." He playfully whined, "It's a date."

**"A what?"** Jona had just came in to check on how her reincarnation sketch was going. She had heard but wasn't sure if she heard correctly.

_"I'm going on a date with Ryou...He's not..." _Ryou couldn't hear his thoughts so he didn't question what Joey's half thought sentence was.

Jona stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing and clutching her sides. Joey and Ryou stared at her strange behavior. She kept her lips closed as she spoke. **"Oh my many gods! I will not tell you my dearest Joey."**

_"What? Why?!" _

**"Free heart, my Joey. Do as you wish! You are still too young to care about who your true love is! Go be free and love! You don't need me to tell you who you are meant to be."**

Joey did not like that answer, but she was right. He wasn't even in his twenties, and he wanted to be hitched already to the right guy! He should enjoy the single life! He won't sleep around, but he'll date guys! He won't date recklessly. He'll date guys who are handsome and interesting and...Joey was going to go on a date with Ryou!

._._._.

Jona truly loved Bakura, so wasn't surprised to see that when Joey and Ryou went on a date, it went amazingly well. The two wanted to spend the whole day together, so Ryou went to Joey's place to eat breakfast, and then the two went off to an art gallery where they shared interesting comments on the pieces of art in front of them.

And then the two went to a park where there was a field dedicated to roses. The two took pictures together, and talked about anything that came to mind. They weren't talking about anything significant. They just enjoyed each other's company.

They went to a restaurant of Joey's choosing for lunch, and then went to an ice skating rink at a mall where the two held hands as they skated and then tried to do some simple moves together. They laughed when the two fell after making a blunder.

After that, the two went into a bookstore where they suggested books to each other for reading. The two ventured the other stores before they moved out to see a play taking place at a forest. The date ended with Ryou going to Joey's place so the two could make dinner together.

"Wow, this is the most fun first date I ever had!" Joey commented when the two sat down on the couch to relax. "I never thought I would ever have fun at an art museum. I thought they were such bores."

"It's interesting when you open yourself up to perspective, and I must say that it was pleasant talking with at the rose garden. I never thought I would laugh so hard."

'I am jumpin' Joey Wheeler, local comedian!" The blond joked. "Man, if I knew having a date with you could be so different but fun at the same time, I would've asked you out a long time ago after your evil side left."

"And I wished I had the courage then to do the same. It was a truly splendid date, but you know what would make it perfect?"

"Hm?" Joey hummed curiously.

Ryou kissed him. The shorter teen kept their lips together for a few seconds and then moved back. Joey didn't know what his heart was doing, but he wanted to kiss Ryou again, so he kissed him. And the two spent the night making out.

They did that until there was a phone alarm. The two teens were still on the couch with Joey on top of Ryou since the blond liked to be dominant, too. The phone that was alarming was Ryou's own. "I'm sorry. Curfew." Joey giggled as the two sat up correctly on the couch. "So are we dating or are we staying friends?"

The blond wasn't sure of how to answer. Kissing Ryou felt amazing! But then...Mokuba. There was also graduation. "I'm sorry, Ryou, but after graduation and everything else afterwards, we won't be able to see each other and distant relationships don't work."

Ryou nodded, and smiled. "I understand. I knew I acted too late, but I don't mind just staying your friend." He held Joey's hand firmly to convince his friend that he was serious.

"Thanks, Ryou." The two shared one final kiss before the teen left.

Joey stared at his door after Ryou left for awhile. It then hit him. "Oh fuck." He lied down on his sofa with a groan.

Jona knew of what was wrong, but still asked, **"What's wrong?**"

"I think I'm in love with Ryou."

**"Oh. So you fall in love easily."**

"No! I mean." He groaned. "Maybe. Am I being stupid?"

Jona gave him a thoughtful expression.** "I believe that I am not the correct person you should speak to. The night is still young, and you have your convenient device."**

Joey took out his phone where he scrolled through his contacts. He didn't want to tell any of his friends since it would make an awkward tension in the gang. He couldn't tell Mokuba since they were dating somewhat. The younger Kaiba rooted for him to be with Seto. And his other contacts weren't close enough to understand the details so that left one person: Seto.

He knew Seto may be busy but it didn't hurt to try. He pressed his green button on his number, and then heard his phone drum.

"What is it, Wheeler?" Seto snapped in a business-like fashion.

Joey immediately regretted calling him, but then he needed this. "Uh, hey, are you too busy?"

"The person I was suppose to meet had food poisoning, so I supposed I do have time. But the real question is, why should I spend my precious time on you?"

"I just need you ta tell me I'm stupid."

"Okay then. You're stupid." Kaiba silently snorted. He could picture Joey's pissed off expression. "As fun as it is to tell you the truth, would you like to enlighten me of why, Wheeler. You usually don't like admitting that you are a stupid fool."

"One more smart ass comment, and I won't tell you, ya bastard!" Joey said furiously, but that only filled Kaiba with glee.

"So?" The blue-eyed duelist easily dismissed the threat to get to the matter at hand.

Joey cringed. "I..."

"You?" Seto had an odd feeling that he didn't want to know.

"I think I'm falling in love with Ryou...Bakura."

Seto froze with his eyes about to pop out. It quickly turned back to icy slits. "Why?" He almost growled. He shouldn't be mad! At least not this mad! Ryou could barely count as competition! Not that Seto was competing for Joey's heart! Fuck himself!

"Why?" Joey was surprised by the question. "We-well..." He couldn't help blushing as he felt like it was a good idea to confess. It may clear his mind. "Ryou confessed his feelings to me, so we went on a date today, and gawd, it was fantastic! (_Why?_) We went to an art museum, and it was so much fun! (_Do I feel like I'm betraying him with every word?_) Like seriously! I never thought looking at weird ass pieces of art could be refreshing! And then we did a lot of other fun stuff like go to a rose garden, buy books and ice skate! (_I feel like I should stop but I don't see the reason to._) And Ryou was so sweet and romantic. I never noticed he liked me because he hid it, and I guess, I don't know! I've always protected my heart, but now I feel like my walls are breaking down, and I might like him a lot, too. He's kind, fun, creative-"

"A psychopath." Seto grounded out. He can't believe he's letting himself hear this, and each and every word was grating on his nerves.

"Hey! That was before, but he's better now!" Joey defended his friend. Seto was also his friend, but he wasn't going to stand for any insults!

"Tch, whatever. I don't have time listening to your nonsense of being in love with a former psychopath."

"Well, excuse me for wanting to look for some common sense from you, ya bastard! But I should've known betta than to ask a cold hearted asshole like you! I bet you don't even know what love is!"

"I know what love perfectly is! But the love your experiencing is a foolish concept of desiring a person like a lovestruck idiot!"

"Maybe I don't mind being a lovestruck idiot! At least I am actually putting my heart into good use of caring for someone and not just Mokuba and not having meaningless one night stands!"

"Oh! So you plan to sleep with Ryou are you?!"

"No! Not yet at least! But I know for sure I can trust Ryou with me than I would for some bastard who's like you!"

"Great! I would never even dream of fucking a mutt like you!"

Joey gasped. "Well good! I don't want to dream the same thing or even imagine it!"

"Fan-fucking-tastic! I would be disgusted if you did!"

"I'd feel the same way, too! You heartless fuck!"

"I'd feel even worse!"

"Screw you!"

"Screw you, back, Wheeler!"

They both stopped shouting to gasp for air, and then it became silent for a while. None of them hung up. Joey sighed audibly. "Sorry."

Kaiba silently cursed himself for letting Joey apologize first, not that the CEO had a reason to apologize. But just for pleasantries and their friendship, "I'm sorry, too."

"I didn't mean to dump this on you. It's just...You know my parents had a nasty divorce, so my view of romantic love has been kinda...distorted. So I always protected my heart, and I thought I could open it up when Mai came along, but then it turns out I'm gay. And now, I feel my walls crumbling down for Ryou, but I'm kinda freaked out, y'know. If y'know." Joey hated this. He sounded like a whiner. He was imposing on Kaiba's time. "Nevermind. Forget that. I'm sorry for wasting your time with my bullshit."

"Wheeler." Kaiba understood Joey. The need to shield one's heart for the sake of not being hurt. He knew that his puppy was afraid to fall in love. But why did it have to be with Ryou? "Just don't get hurt."

That...actually helped Joey calm down his heart. That simple sentence meant alot to the blond. The way Kaiba said it, it meant that the brunet was telling him to be careful, but in the same time he was not alone on this. If his heart may be broken, although by Ryou seemed impossible, he had someone to vent to about the pain. Joey found himself venting to be an impossible matter to, but to know that Kaiba was there, it sort of made him happy and encouraged.

"Thanks Kaiba." Joey hung up, and then lied back against his couch. His heart was hurting, but not too much. He was at peace but also not at peace. He didn't understand of what he was feeling. He thought of both Ryou and Kaiba and it was conflicting when it shouldn't be.

He needed to sleep this off. Jona left him alone to let him figure this out on his own.

._._._.

Joey found himself off stage in a theater. He was confused as he found himself in front of a mirror for a short moment that showed that he was dressed in a black tutu, his hair dyed black and tied up, and dramatic dark makeup on as his eyes were an auburn color.

He looked to the side to see a ballerina dancing. The ballerina was shimmering below the spotlight as she danced gracefully in her white tutu. Her own platinum hair tied up with her tiara. Her blue eyes are vibrant and her smile captivating.

The actor knew that girl was Kisandra, and then watched as she danced with Kaiba who must be prince Sigfried (Irony) from the ballet Swan Lake. And then it hit Joey of who he was. He was the black swan, Odile. The one who was to trick the prince, and break Odette's/Kisandra's heart.

Joey grimaced at what position he was put in and didn't even know how to dance ballet! However, he was pushed by his friends who happened to be with him to go on stage when it was his turn. The blond suddenly found himself dancing gracefully as if he had been dancing ballet for years to the point of perfection that it scared him as he found himself in Kaiba's arms.

The two of them danced with such precision except there was a freedom and flow to it as well. Joey didn't want to dance with Kaiba because of the way the male was looking at him. The face was blank, but his blue, blue eyes were warm instead of icy. As if love was filling those orbs like a sun to a glacier that threatened to flood the world. In this case, Joey's world.

But the black swan knew that that love was not for him. Kaiba as the prince thought he was Kisandra. The woman he truly loved. Not him, and that hurt for Joey.

But then out of nowhere, he was taken away from Kaiba, and was now in the arms of another prince. "R-Ryou?!" This wasn't in the script! This was weird except Ryou looked fitting. Kaiba was wearing the color blue while Ryou wore red. It was kind of like they made the red eyes black dragon while Kisandra, who came into view to dance with the prince, and Kaiba made the blue eyes white dragon.

The couples danced, and Joey wasn't sad. He had Ryou, and his heart thrummed for him. Ryou was gentle with him, and they were happy together. And Joey doubted they would fight over anything much which is not such a bad thing because they have the rest of the world to fight, and could always find solace in each other.

Perhaps, Ryou was better for him. He wasn't a strong man who could dominate him, but Joey could change his taste, or perhaps the shorter teen had a secret side to him that wasn't evil. They might be able to make distance possible, and Joey could move to England and find work there. He heard from Kiyoko he was rather popular there, too.

So, Joey enjoyed his dance with Ryou, but then out of nowhere, he was somehow in Kaiba's arms again. He pushed back to be in Ryou's, but then he found himself in Kaiba's arms again. At the end of the scene, Joey fell down when he lost his footing after trying to twirl away from Kaiba to be with Ryou.

Both Kaiba and Ryou held out their hands to him. Joey gave Kaiba a glare as he gave Ryou his hand. Kaiba glared back at him, but that glare softened when Kisandra placed her hand on his upper arm.

Joey became jealous by the sight, but then he had Ryou. He took the platinum blond's hand, and had the two walk away from the couple. The spot light was staying on them, and then Joey felt Ryou pull him into a kiss which he reciprocated.

Kaiba balled his hands so tightly that they were trembling. He hated this. He hated that he was envious! He felt Kisandra's soft marshmallow-like hand caress his cheek. His anger somewhat softened.

._._._.

On Monday, Joey saw Ryou at the front of the school. "Hey, Ryou!" He greeted with his female voice. He was scared for a moment that Ryou was going to treat him differently, but then the chocolate eyed sweetie looked at him and smiled kindly without any trace of deceit.

"Good morning, Joey. How was your yesterday?"

"Just busy like usual. Kiyoko got me a cameo for a movie. It's just a small part, but all my fans are ready to see the movie just for me!"

"I believe you should count as one of those fans. You are always a joy to watch." Ryou said that as just a compliment, but it made Joey feel ticklish tingles on his back.

"I-I try my best y'know!" He didn't mean to run his finger across the curve of his ear to move part of his hair back because he felt bashful! No! His hair was just irritating him! And he had his arm wrapped around Ryou's neck to force himself to stay natural! "You really think I'm a joy huh."

The two walked in being just friends, and Kaiba exited his limo to see them being too affectionate for his liking. He wanted to walk up, take Joey away, and then shove Ryou into the middle of the road so he could become roadkill. But then, he held himself back. He shouldn't be thinking these things! He shouldn't feel...envious.

Yet, his anger grew as the school days of April went by. Joey was sitting next to Ryou, and talking to him during the breaks. It didn't look different since they were surrounded with the other goons, but Joey was beaming at Ryou a little too lovingly than the others.

"Is something or someone bothering you Mr. Kaiba?" Kisandra Labelle asked when the two were having a friendly _date_ before the night of the charity gala. The two were having tea in the traditional Japanese fashion. The atmosphere was supposed to be harmonious, but Kaiba was ruining that.

"No." Seto replied sharply.

Kisandra sharply smiled, and gently spoke, "I would believe that if I felt like I was at peace, but frankly, you are ruining that."

The CEO glared at her icily, but she fought back with not a glare but a deadpan stare which meant that she was not having any of his bullshit, so come clean. They weren't entirely offensive. Her blue eyes were warm and bright that there was an obvious hint of concern for her partner. Kaiba huffed. "I am sorry for ruining the atmosphere, but what I have going on is none of your business at the moment."

"Then consider this as a practice for when we will be married. Your mood will effect my business, and it would be good to know whether now or not if I am able to help remedy the situation to the best of my ability."

"I do not need your help." He said with a tone that meant that this was to be the end of this conversation.

But the blond CEO wasn't having any of that. "You are not being professional right now." She softly snapped and took a sip of her tea. Seto's glare became deathly, but she retaliated with a glare of her own. "We both know that this is more of a meeting situation between CEOs than an actual date. So I speak out of concern, as a person with a company on her shoulders, to know of what is wrong with my future business partner because his or her state of mind may effect the results. I know you are a very adept man, Mr. Kaiba, but you would act the same if I were in your state in this situation."

Seto wanted to retort, but then Kisandra was right. He would've persuaded or coerced her into telling him of what is wrong, and he wouldn't drop it since he needed or at least prefered that his married business partner to be always on the right set of mind. He blamed Joey for his actions. The mutt was always holding him down. He should forget him... Just a month and less a half away until then.

"I have this mutt." Seto paused. He wasn't sure of what else to say without giving too much away. He refused to let his future business partner see his weakness.

Kisandra rose a brow to this. "A dog lover?"

Kaiba snorted. "Not at all. I rather have a cat, but sadly, fate has given me a dog."

"Why did you not simply let the dog go?"

"I tried, but he always seemed to always find me."

"He or she sounds intelligent."

The brunet snorted again. "No. The idiot is just lucky." That statement had Kisandra second guess if it was an animal. She listened tentatively. "But it's more due to his friend."

"Your dog has a friend?"

"Yes. He comes from a pack of dogs. He's not the alpha dog, if you were wondering."

"What is his name?"

Kaiba knew Kisandra would meet Joey at some point since they were acquaintances, so he replied, "I do not give names to strays."

"I see. So what is your problem with this dog?"

Seto sipped his tea to think of a way to say his problem. He was currently angry that Joey was in love with Ryou. "The mutt had found himself a new master."

"Then shouldn't you be happy that he had finally left you alone."

"He hasn't left me alone. He still comes to me from time to time, but not the same way he would for his master. Don't be quick to assume that I am jealous. However I do feel annoyed that the mutt still comes to me when he should just stick with his master."

"That's sad." Kisandra commented. Kaiba rose his own brow. The blue eyed beauty clarified, "Perhaps all the dog wished for was your acknowledgement. If you were to give that, then maybe it wouldn't be such a nuisance that he would appear at your feet."

"Acknowledging him would mean defeat."

"Or a beginning of a beautiful friendship between you and this dog. Perhaps that is why it's bothering you. You care for this dog, and that should be nothing to be ashamed of. You are Seto Kaiba. Screw the world, and be at peace. You shouldn't feel ashamed of wanting or being friends with this dog." She smiled brightly, and it wasn't a sign of weakness to the fellow CEO. No. Kaiba saw strength behind that smile.

A strength that was too persuasive for its own good, but then it did put his mind at ease. Perhaps that was the problem. He knew Joey and him were friends, but he hadn't fully acknowledged it. If he did, the sex and fairytale dreams could end, and he wouldn't be angry anymore.

He stayed silent, though he mentally appreciated Kisandra's wise words. He didn't feel inferior since he had plenty of intelligent proposals to make her business rise to be nearly as great as his company was.

._._._.

Joey was sitting on the grass at a park with his friends. He was wearing a white, chiffon, pleated, v-neck dress with simplistic gold additions. His hair was done in a waterfall braid which had him appear sophisticated and somewhat romantic as it was a somewhat cloudy day so the sun was neither to bright or too dull.

It was such a perfect day for Joey to take pictures of himself for his blog by Tea, so the gang including Mokuba went to the park with a picnic blanket and basket. They had Joey running, sitting, lying down, and smiling for the camera. Ryou was the one who had bought the camera, and was the one to take the pictures, so he had to look at the platinum blond.

Everyone was having fun, though Mokuba was slowly sinking into a realization as he watched how Joey was looking at the camera.

"Wow, these pictures are amazing!" Tea commented when she looked at each one that Ryou took. "You should be a professional photographer Ryou!"

"That's the dream along with some drawings, paintings and whatever an art major may get me."

"Maybe I should hire you to draw the next covers for my game?" Duke suggested with a friendly wink.

"Can we eat now?!" Joey whined. "I'm starved from all the girly running you had me do as if I'm some perfume model!"

His friends laughed at him, and prepared the blanket and food for their hardworking friend. Joey munched away the good food that made him look completely out of character with the way he was dressed.

The actor felt a poke to his arm, so looked to Mokuba who was doing the poking. He whispered, "Can I talk to you in private?"

Joey swallowed his food. He didn't know of what Mokuba could want to talk to him about, but it can't be anything terrible. "Sure. Hey guys, Mokuba needs the bathroom, so I'm gonna follow him to make sure he stays safe from any random psycho lurking around these parts."

That was logical so the gang watched them go. When they were out of hearing range and sight, Mokuba pulled Joey behind a tree from public eye. "Okay, what is the deal between you and Ryou?"

"What?!" Joey immediately gave it away with how red he got on the face. "There's nothing between us! C'mon! We're friends!"

Mokuba deadpanned his face that Joey was struck with the arrow of "TOO OBVIOUS".

"I already saw the pictures of you spending time with Ryou at the mall! So out with it Joey! Are you cheating on me?!"

The blond covered his mouth, and got bit for it. "Ow! You bit me!" Mokuba glared at him. Joey gave in, "Okay, Ryou confessed to me that he likes me, and asked me out on a date last Saturday."

"You did cheat on me!"

"It wasn't cheating since we're not actually dating, Mokuba! And we're not dating-dating! We're just friends!" Joey rubbed the nape of his neck.

"No."

"No?"

"No, you will not date Ryou if you change your mind! We both agreed that we won't date anyone unless the other approves, and I do not approve!"

"Okay! Okay! What's wrong Mokuba? Why are you so upset about this?"

Mokuba crossed his arms as he glared down at the ground. "Seto...Seto agreed to marry Kisandra."

"What?" Joey blinked as he felt something shatter inside him. Though his curiousity glossed over it. "They met?"

"Yeah. The public doesn't know about it, and they won't know about it for awhile so that their engagement didn't seem like an arranged business proposal...which it actually is! He shouldn't be with Kisandra! He should be with you!"

"He-Hey!" Joey placed his hands on Mokuba's shoulders. "You shouldn't be so put off about this. I understand that you want me to be with your brother, but you shouldn't think badly of Kisandra for not making that happen. You should give her a chance because she might be able to make your brother happy."

"You already do that Joey." The younger male whined.

The cross dresser was surprised by this. "Really? I think you're having delusions of grandeur about my relationship with your brother there, kiddo."

"I'm not!" Mokuba caught his tone and volume. "I mean...I know Seto better than anyone, and you make him happy, Joey. You distract him from work, and all those times you argue, he's...having fun."

"In a sadistic way." The blond mumbled.

The indigo-eyed pre-teen grimaced. "Besides that, you make him happy!"

"Mokuba, give Kisandra a chance. Wouldn't it be nice if your brother had more people making him happy?"

Mokuba wanted to stay stubborn, but Joey was right. The younger Kaiba shouldn't be so quick to assume that Kisandra was a bad person, or a person incapable of making his brother happy. He grumbled, "Fine, but you still can't date Ryou."

"Whatever, man." The two of them returned to the group.

Mokuba noticed of how Joey quicky sat next to Ryou and leaned in closely to him. Of course, it was to see the pictures, but the way the honey-eyed duelist looked at the ex-hikari, the pre-teen couldn't help but feel like he was failing.

._._._.

The night of the charity gala came. Joey sat in front of his vanity table as Jona was helping him with his hair. The ghost could touch his hair and the hair products so the actor was able to do his own makeup.

"Gawd, I cannot believe what I'm doing. If you had told me last year that I was going to dress up like a girl, become famous, and actually know the difference between shorts and hot pants, I would've called you crazy."

Jona chuckled, "And the fact that you had finally met your past incarnation. I remember when I used to do the hair of my three sisters. I knew how to braid, curl and bun their hair as well as I can work the ropes of a ship during a storm."

"Who was your third sister anyway? I know Mai and Serenity were your sisters, but who was the third?"

"I want to keep my third sister a secret still. I am not hiding anything evil behind my secrets. It's just that I know in my gut that it's not the right time to tell you."

"Why?"

"Destiny, Joey. All things shall be revealed in time." Jona arranged the finished hair. "There! Done!"

"Sweet!" Joey felt his phone vibrate. "Mokuba's here. Let's go."

The two of them walked out of the apartment complex, and saw the sleek, black limo parked outside. Joey got in to see Mokuba in a snazzy suit. His boyfriend had a big grin on his face when he saw how his date was dressed. The blond grinned back as he lightly pushed Mokuba for making him feel really good about the way he dressed.

They were driven to the big fancy hotel that the charity gala was taking place. The moment the blond stepped out, photographers were making him go blind by all that flashes. He almost used his hand purse to shield his eyes.

"Whoa! How do celebrities not go blind by this?!" Joey asked with a practiced smile as Mokuba exited.

The tux wearing young man chuckled, "It's not that bad. Let's go."

The two walked into the building, and Joey found himself at the top of a grand staircase after passing two double doors that were opened for them. The stairs were red carpeted, and there were chandeliers, rich people talking on their tables or not, musicians playing on a stage where the charity auction was to take place, and waiters going around with plates of food and drinks. In front of him was a ballroom dancefloor where couples decided to use.

Joey remembered that he wanted to come to this gala in order to have Kaiba finally admit that he was hot when he cross dressed. Although this time he won't stop cross dressing, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

**"You are beautiful."** Jona told him. She stood beside him like a queen instead of a princess.

The woman had also changed her own dress into a modern red sexy party dress that hugged all the right curves. She had let down her hair, and was absolutely striking that Joey thought that she would take all the attention in the gala all for herself without trying if she was visible.

Joey smiled at the encouragement. He was wearing a one-shoulder, Grecian, red dress with a bit of gold sparkle, and his hair done wavy. There was a long slit on his skirt that would make him be able to show his amazing legs if he was to sit down and just move a part of his skirt to the side.

His eyes searched the crowd for a certain CEO. Despite being human without crazy hair like Yugi, Kaiba easily stood out with his intense gaze, perfect posture, and the way plenty of people gravitated towards him. Joey saw that the brunet was talking to a group of very important dressed people, so the blond decided to just mingle with anyone who looked interesting while Mokuba did the same.

As he descended from the stairs, Kaiba had immediately noticed him. He found it weird yet fitting to find Joey beautiful. The duelist felt a cool fresh of air was breathed into his lungs. There was stir in his chest that made him want to ignore everyone attending just so he could annoy the blond. His lips tingled when he remembered the hot, searing kiss he felt.

He wanted to stride over to the male, take him by the hand and get him out of the place so they could make out inside of his limo with the partition up. He saw the the dress had a long slit, so he imagined that his hands would push the skirt aside so he could run his hands across those amazing legs.

When Joey got to the bottom of the staircase, he looked to be searching for someone, but no one in particular. However someone caught his puppy's attention. "Joey?"

"Alexir De Gon?" Joey slightly blushed because the man was still amazingly handsome. He knew he felt ill about seeing the man again, but then all those ill feelings went away when he focused on the positive of why he loved his idol. "Oh wow! It's you!"

"Yeah, it's me!" The man looked relieved, and gave a charming smirk. "And must I say that you have...evolved. You are even more beautiful than I remember you."

Joey didn't mean to giggle like a stupid high school girl, but he did. He gave a quick twirl. His skirt rise, and slit slightly opened to reveal his beautiful legs and daring red heels. "I know right! I'm super hot! And famous now! Not famous as you, Alexir, if I can-"

"Yes, you can." The actor immediately accepted to be called by his first name.

Joey felt a pinch of glee. "Alexir, but I am getting there! Just gotta get through the DDDM tournament, and then I'm gonna hit to the movies, and TV shows in no time!" He was still aiming to be a chef, but he wasn't one to stop short on work. He's gotta make his company and Kiyoko famous as well!

His idol seemed to be greatly amused. "If that's true, then maybe I can get you a role."

Joey gasped. "A role in a movie with you?" It was every fangirls dream to be in the same movie as their idol!

"Yeah,"

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Joey gave the man a grand hug. "I get to act in a movie with my idol! You have no idea how happy you just made me! How can I repay you?"

Alexir chuckled, "You don't need to repay me...Although, you do owe me a kiss. Bu-" The man didn't have to say another word when Joey kissed him right on the lips. He already kissed Yugi, Mokuba and Ryou, so this kiss was the least personal and awkward.

Seto crushed his glass of champagne the moment his eyes saw that kiss. He was making his way to Joey, but then stopped when he saw the blond unhesitantly kiss the well known actor.

What the fuck?! The duelist thought Wheeler had told him that he was in love with Ryou, and was now kissing another man! Was Joey a loose guy?! Was the blond even a virgin now?! Why the fuck did he care so much?!

People quickly asked him questions with concern, but he discarded them, and made his way to the bathroom to wash his hand. There was no blood or glass so he could return without having people annoyingly question him about the bandages. Kisandra was among the crowd. The two had been splitted by their peers, but now they briefly reunited.

"I'm just going to freshen myself." Kaiba told her.

The woman nodded. "Don't take too long. Mr. Kiwashi seemed to want to have an affair, and I would like it if you were close by in order to kick him out if he dared try to lay a hand on me."

"I'll warn my security guards."

"Thank you." She gave him a sweet smile that seemed to be pleasing instead of stupid in the frigid man's eyes.

She was truly beautiful.

The woman was wearing a white, sleeveless trumpet gown with a sweet heart neckline. Her hair was put into a lovely side bun, and lips were kissable and pink like two rose petals. It was like staring at the most beautiful simplistic painting of a pink rose under a beautiful blue sky with those cumulus clouds.

With someone so divine in beauty and has yet to truly be hated by him, why did Kaiba become angry over someone like Wheeler?

Joey saw Kaiba walk away, and saw that Mokuba was still talking with other important people. Alexir had to return to his date, so he was left alone again. He then felt a vibrate in his hand purse. He took out his phone to see that Ryou had texted him.

The blond's heart did flip flops at the sight of his friend's name.

**_R: How is the gala going?_**

**_J: It's going great! I got to talk to Alexir De Gon again! And after the tour, he might get me a part in one of his movies!_**

**_R: That's wonderful! You are an amazing person, Joey. You will be absolutely stunning. I can't wait to see how you will look once you step on the red carpet._**

**_J: I'm gonna be absolutely fuckin' gorgeous! I'm gonna put all those broads to shame with my flat chest!_**

**_R: I can imagine you being undeniably vibrant and breath-taking. More so than you already are._**

**_J: Aw! Thanks man! You are the best! I hope that when you succeed your dreams, I'll be called up by you to be one of your models._**

**_R: Preferably naked, I hope._**

Joey paused as he became a strawberry. As he had been texting, he had taken a seat on a luxurious couch set to the side. He had moved his skirt so his incredibly sexy and beautiful legs were shown. He noticed some stares that made him either uncomfortable and confident. Now he felt bashful.

_**J: Is this still you, Ryou? If it is, I never took you to also hide a naughty side. It's kinda weird but cool. Oh great, now I'm sounding weird. And I don't think I want people to see a portrait of me naked.**_

_**R: It was me who texted, and I would want such an exquisite portrait to be just mine alone. But I don't think that I could ever be able to paint the way your golden hair shimmers under the light. The way your amber eyes lit up like a roaring fire always hungry for something more. The delicious curves of your god-like body. I don't think I could ever paint how soft and rich and warm your lips would feel if they were to be kissed like I have done to them.**_

Joey felt his heart skipping happily to every compliment. The blond just wanted Ryou to hold him right now to see if what his friend was saying were true.

_**J: That's nice to know. And I would love to hear more, but a very important looking person, who has the power to ruin my reputation, is talking to me. I'll see you at school.**_

It was a lie, but then he didn't want to delve in too deep with Ryou with just these text messages. They had to remain friends, so he had to set his boundaries by passing these off as jokes.

**"Why not delve in?"** Jona asked. **"I understand your need to remain friends for the good graces of Mokuba, but you deserve to have some sort of romance in your life."**

_"I don't want to be the type of person who falls in love easy cuz that'll mean my heart can also break easy, or I might be secretly prone to cheating."_

**"Nonsense. Loyalty is our strongest virtue. However, you should understand better than an average person of how pain can make a person stronger and wiser."**

_"Seems a little too soon and too late to do something about it."_

**"A whirlwind romance it is then."**

_"Why do you want me to date Ryou? I didn't hear you rooting for me to date Valon. Unless..."_

**"I will only tell you this. The real Bakura in the past was, believe it or not, the most romantic man who I've ever known. Behind his bad manners, thieving ways, and dark past which makes him into a well-loved, sexy bad boy, when he comes to care about a woman, he'll shower her with respect and love. He makes sure not to smother her, too."**

_"Seriously?"_ Joey tried to picture that, but then the traumatic flashbacks of Zorc prevented that. Though Bakura and Ryou had to have some sort of similarity other than having white hair. Yugi and Atem were both strong and compassionate. Seth and Seto were both frigid, bastard, geniuses. Jona and him are practically the epitome of loyalty. So Ryou and Bakura could both be awesome romantics. Why not? It's better than the horrifying thought of them both being evil...

"Mr. Wheeler?" A kind voice spoke to him. Joey looked away from the phone, that he was putting back into his purse, to see Kisandra Labelle speaking to him. The woman was far more beautiful than the picture he had of her in his phone. He felt a pang of uncomfortable pain by the fact that Kaiba was going to marry her.

"Kisandra-" He said in his male voice, but quickly changed it to his female one. "I mean, Ms. Labelle!" He stood up and saw that they were practically the same height. "It's so nice to finally meet you! I'm the one and only Joey Wheeler! You must've heard of me right?"

The enchanting female giggled. Her smile was purely genuine that Joey didn't feel like he was going to be deceived. "How could I not?" She spoke with her kind voice. "You are quite the inspiration for gays, those of misfortune, and eccentric people. It is an honor to finally meet you."

"Same for me. I'm a close friend of the Kaiba corps.' vice president, so I know what's up." He gave a wink, and whispered. "Just gonna tell you good luck. You're really gonna need it if you're gonna spend the rest of your life with Kaiba."

"I believe I know what you mean." She sat down on the sofa. Joey did the same. "Kaiba is a bit difficult to talk with, and I would like to know him as a person. Not only as a business partner, so our marriage could at least be presentable."

Joey stopped himself from snorting because the woman must have no idea of what she's getting herself into. He decided to be helpful since the CEO seemed friendly, and didn't mind if it was a mask since it was better than facing the CEOs he's known (Pegasus, Kaiba, Zigfried, Duke...).

He provided, "Then you got your work cut out for you, Ms. Labelle. Kaiba had a hard upbringing, so you can't expect to be at least friends with him after a few months. It took me years to finally at least have Kaiba see me as more than just any ordinary duelist or in his case, a mutt."

"A mutt?" Kisandra remembered that Kaiba had a problem with a dog.

Joey clarified, "Kaiba has the habit of calling me an idiot, a monkey but the name that really gets on my nerves is when he's calling me a dog. He knows it, so calls me it a lot. I try my best to tolerate them now that I have to behave myself for the media, y'anno."

"Yes, I do. As the CEO of Labelle corporation, every single step and word has to be taken account."

"Tell me about it! A lot of people still want me talkin' about how Duke, the CEO of Dungeon Dice Monsters, got me into a dog suit! I'm tellin' ya, it's gonna haunt me to my grave when people read up on me in the future." Kisandra stifled her giggles, but Joey saw the laughter in her eyes. He didn't mind. He laughed at himself, too. "And don't get me started about my love life! Do you know of how I started cross dressin'?"

"Yes. I am a fan of your blog. It was thrilling to watch your adventure of fighting for your right to dress as a female. And must I say, I am jealous of your legs." She pointed at them.

Joey grinned proudly. "I know right, but you got a great complexion! I swear that if a Swan Lake casting director needed his Odette, you'd be top pick."

That was a creative compliment which Kisandra smirked at. She liked him. "Thank you."

And he liked her. "Your welcome, and what was I gettin' at?"

"Something about your love life." The woman with the better memory replied.

"Oh right! So yeah, just cuz I started cross dressin' for Kaiba, doesn't mean I have feelings for him! You have no idea what his fangirls at school try to do to me! One of them stuffed my locker full of road kill!"

"Oh dear! Did you tell the school office about this?"

"Nah, I'm not one to tattle. One of the many things you learn from the streets. I just cleaned my locker and all's good."

"And you let the girl who did that to you get away with it? I'm sorry, but I would not stand for disrespect!" She said so viciously that even Joey flinched. Now he understood of how she remained at the top of her corporation. It was also sort of scary when she continued kindly smiling.

Joey tried to keep the situation calm. "It wasn't somethin' I wanted to make a scene out of. Besides, if I did, then that fangirl would've known that she got to me, so bein' the cool person I am, I just let it slide. It didn't make the situation any easier, but it meant that I got on their nerves and they knew it." The golden blond grinned mischievously like a child. "And can you imagine of what they went through to get that roadkill? I laugh when I imagine them in gloves, plastic suit and whatever as they picked it off the road going-" He did facial expressions of disgust.

Kisandra chortled. "That is hilarious, Mr. Wheeler."

"Please, call me Joey. Everybody does. Well the ones who don't get a stick up their butt."

Not being one to be considered to have a stick up her butt, she followed suit. "Okay, Joey, if you do not like Kaiba," she remembered the details of Seto's dog story. "then do you have a person you like very much? I swear on my company, I won't tell a soul."

Immediately Ryou passed through his mind. He hesitated to answer.

Jona reasoned, **"You should be honest, and Kisandra is the reincarnation of Kisara. I can see it clearly that she is a good woman with a strong and pure heart."**

Joey agreed with her, but he still found it hard to speak at the moment when his cheeks reddened. "The-there is someone, but-" He stopped when his nose caught a whiff of something. "Wait, what's that smell?" The both of them took a whiff of the air, and then simultaneously cried out, "Chocolate!" They laughed.

"Let's go get some!" Joey got up and caught her hand. The two quickly went to the buffet table where they saw that the chocolate fountain had been installed. They quickly grabbed a stick and poked at whatever was available to them so they could get a taste of the sweetness of life.

Joey heard Kisandra moan. She apologized, "I'm sorry. I have an undeniable sweet tooth. If I did not have a diet to live by, I would've died happily as a diabetic."

"I hear ya! I love spicy food! But then it kinda makes you gassy, and no one wants to work with someone who's gonna fart every minute."

Kisandra laughed. "You are a charm to be around. No wonder Mr. Kaiba likes having you around." She tries to make a shish kabob.

Joey snorted, "If he had a choice, he'd never see me again, but I Mokuba likes having me around, and I love dueling. Just wait here." He goes over to where the drinks are served, and got too empty plastic cups. He puts different fruits and more in it before having the chocolate fountain fill it up.

Kisandra gasped, "You are a genius." And quickly did hers, too.

"I am aspiring to be a five-star chef who'll own not a fancy-schmancy restuarant, but a restaurant where hard-worker and families can relax with good food. But for now, I gotta make Draco company the top talent agency in Domino."

"Why did you want to become famous, Joey?"

"It's to pay for my Dad's rehab bills, my bills, and my little sister's wedding when she wants to get married. I'm going to pay everything from the venue to the dress, and make sure nothing is out of place. It's all going to be able my sister."

"And the groom, too?"

"Screw him or her. Whoever the person is should make sure the wedding is all about my baby sister, too."

"Dear god, you are making me fall in love with you, Joey. Yet, you're gay and I'm getting married. Curse me for not being born a free man."

"We could leave now and test out if I'm really gay." Joey joked, and they both laughed.

Kisandra joked, too. "I'll call my driver, and you call yours, and we will meet at a motel, okay?"

Joey howled with laughter, but then quickly quieted himself as the two got weird stares. "You're not like other CEOs. You're actually pretty cool. Every CEO I met are either haughty or complete assholes."

"I treat others like I would like them to treat me. However, I will not allow others to use me, and I will use intimidation to make sure that my workers are keeping up with their requirements. However, plenty of people are willing to please a pretty face."

"Wow, you are amazing. Talk about girl power." Joey moved down the buffet table with a plate in hand to get some food. "So are you going to stay in Domino?"

"I have business in this city, but then I will have to return by September. Kaiba plans to make a visit to France after a month or two. We will not be engaged until next year or the year after that depending on how busy we are."

"I could give you a few tips on how to at least be friends with Kaiba, but it's still gonna take you years to accomplish that."

"I would appreciate them definitely." The two sat at a table where they ate their food with finesse. Though Joey was still stuffing his face, and would muffle a squeal every now and then.

"Alright, well, the obvious is that you gotta be friends with Mokuba. Kaiba loves Mokuba. The kid is his world; his last source of light, and if you don't get along with him, then your most likely gettin' the boot to next Tuesday."

Kisandra nodded to this. "Then how do I get into younger Kaiba's good graces?" She had a few ideas, but she wanted to hear what the duelist had to say.

"Well, first you gotta be real with him. He's not happy about you marrying his brother because he doubts you can make him happy. Now, making Kaiba happy? Even that's a mystery to me, but I do got a few ideas. Well, first, do you like dueling?"

"I do. In fact, one of the main reasons that I want to marry him especially is because he holds the blue eyes white dragon cards. I don't want to steal it, but I would love to battle him for it."

"That's good! Go do it! He loves those cards, and if you love them, too, who knows. He might start seeing you in a new light! And don't be afraid to piss him off during a duel. You gotta be competitive. Show that asshole that you are giving it yer all cuz you want those cards."

"But what if he ends up hating me and call of the marriage, not that he can due to our contract, but I prefer that he doesn't hate me."

"He won't, or at least I think he won't. Depends on how good you duel, and if you are pretty good, he'll find you interesting. Yugi and I were nothin' ta him until we started dueling."

Kisandra nodded with an awe struck expression. "Fascinating. So then, number one priority, be in younger Kaiba's good graces. And then number two would be challenging him to a duel. is there anymore you can tell me?"

"Just to be always be real with him. He's already around phonies and slaves all the time, so ya gotta stay fresh and original."

"Like you."

Joey snorted loudly. "Nothin' like me. If I was the one gonna be engaged to Kaiba, he would've ended it right afterwards. We argue like cats and dogs. I'm the bitch, he's the pussy. You get me right."

"Dear lord." Kisandra laughed silently. Joey giggled evilly. Jona was flat out howling with laughter on the floor. "Stop making me fall in love with you more and more, Joey! You are seriously a breath of fresh air."

"If you knew how I smell after eating a spicy burrito, you wouldn't be calling me that." He got a playful slap on his upperarm.

"Having fun ladies?" Kaiba rhetorically questioned. Mokuba stood beside him with a cordial smile.

Joey replied, "Yes before you got here. Kisandra and I were having a lovely time. Right Kisandra? Can I call you Kiki?"

Kaiba glared at him. He was not surprised though, since Joey was a likable person to a point. "You may not."

"I didn't ask you, ya prick. Geeze, not even officially dating, and he's already trying to control you."

"I'm not controlling her. What respectful person would want to be called Kiki?"

"A respectful person who knows how to relax and be fun for once. Right Kiki?"

Kisandra couldn't help smiling mirthfully. "Yes, Joey. Can I call you Jojo?"

"Yes, Kiki. You may." He smirked victoriously at Kaiba who glared even more harshly at him, and dubiously at Kisandra. Joey had his arm wrapped around his to-be fiance and pulled her close. The crossdresser smirking and Kisandra stifling her giggles. "Watch out Kaiba, I'm stealin' yo girl and I'm dressed like a woman. How hot is that?"

"More like a freak of nature, and I chose erroneously."

Kisandra burst out laughing. Kaiba smirked and Joey glared at him with a slight blush. Mokuba was just amused by the whole turn of events.

"C'mon Kaiba, admit it already!" Joey stood up. His hands on his table and his bootilcious bottom stuck out behind him. "Everyone thinks so, so admit that I'm hot already!"

"Hmph. Everyone has their own opinions, Wheeler, and for your information, not everyone thinks your hot or even presentable."

Joey crossed his arms and looked over at Kisandra who seemed to be amused by the conversation. "Y'see why I told ya it would've lasted for a flat second?"

"I would actually give it ten minutes at best since there should be arguing before the initial breakup."

"So sad but true."

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba questioned, not liking that he was left in the shadows.

"None of your business, richboy, and I'm in the mood fer dancin'. Teach me to waltz, Mokuba."

"Love to." The two made their way to the ballroom dance floor. Mokuba gave him the basic instructions. There was some awkward movement, but then they were soon moving smoothly across the dance floor along with the other dancers.

Kaiba took his seat of where Joey was. "What were you talking to Wheeler about?"

"I was talking to your 'dog' about how to be in your good graces."

Kaiba inwardly flinched. He immediately regretted telling her the story, but then he chose to ignore it, and focused on what else she said. "From Wheeler? If it's from him, then we'll never get along."

"Hm. I have nothing to say to that, but I do want to spend time with him. I still haven't gotten a tour of Domino city since I've been barraged with work. He is a very interesting person. I find it no surprise that he had found a new 'master'. He's wonderful, and I'd love to try his cooking. Have you tried it?"

"It's pretty good." Kaiba felt like he didn't give the correct comment, but he wasn't going to compliment the monkey duelist more than he has to.

She smirked. "Coming from a person like you, it must be exquisite to the taste buds." She looked over at Joey who was smiling and talking with Mokuba as they waltzed. "You should take this opportunity to dance with him."

"Why?"

"To finally acknowledge your friendship to ease your irritation. Just one simple dance. No more, not less."

Kaiba was silent as he also looked over at Joey who was enjoying his time with Mokuba. They were talking about something, but it was none of his business to know since it was most likely trivial.

What they were talking about was Kisandra. Joey told Mokuba, "I'm tellin' ya that Kisandra is an awesome person. I can feel it in my gut, and my gut is nevah wrong!"

"Whatever. I still think you and big brother would've made a better couple."

"Let that go, Mokuba. I don't think I like your brother as much as I did before." The younger Kaiba grimaced at that. "But I'll still be there for you Mokuba, and I'll always love you. Isn't that better cuz if I was datin' yer brotha, I wouldn't love you as much as I do now cuz all that love would be goin' to Kaiba?"

"I wouldn't mind. At least Seto will have someone who could love him like you could."

"Like I said before, give Kisandra a chance. She's an amazing person."

"You're an amazing person, Joey."

"You too, Mokuba." What Joey really meant was that there were plenty of amazing people who should be given the chance to be loved. The indigo-eyed vice president caught the message, and just closed in the gap between him and Joey more.

Jona asked to take over. Joey allowed her with the idea that she could convince Mokuba unlike him. The woman took hold and got into the sway of the waltz easily since she's been watching and listening.

Mokuba noticed the change of atmosphere, and the softened, matured expression Joey sported. "Jona?"

"Yes, and you are being difficult, young Mokuba."

"I don't mean to." He pouted.

"And I know you don't, but a closed heart and mind gives you an ache of frustration and irritation like an illness. The cure is to open the doors."

"But don't you think that Joey and Seto would've made a better couple? Didn't you end up with Seto's past incarnation? I just know it that Joey and Seto are meant for each other."

"All you hold is a fantasy, darling. But you must grow up and face the reality. Joey is in love with Ryou, and Kaiba will be married to the beautiful, good-spirited Kisandra. Can you do that for me, Mokuba? Face the reality."

Mokuba didn't want to say yes, but he didn't want to be immature. He was almost a teenager and would soon be an adult, too. Jona was right. He was acting childish and irritating Joey. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Jona softly smirked. "There's nothing to apologized for, and thank you for understanding, Mokuba." She gave the pre-teen a kiss on the cheek as the music ended.

Mokuba blushed. Jona was a really sexy woman in a man's body. Joey took back his body. The atmosphere lightened up. "Thanks Mokuba." He said sincerely and gave the pre-teen his own kiss on the forehead with a loud, "MOO-AH!"

Mokuba hastely wiped his forehead as his blush grew hotter. Joey was seriously too cute in his own body! It just made the kiss embarrassing as it also made the vice president of a global company get really happy, too! But he didn't want to show it!

Seto was irritated and reluctant that he was jealous that his brother got two kisses from the blond. However, he ignored his jealous feelings to remain on task. He faced Joey. The blond was drawing a blank about this despite it being obvious. Seto could see it on his face that he couldn't help smiling. Mokuba was once again doubting that his brother and Joey weren't meant for each other.

Seto cleared his throat, made his face blank, and asked, "May I have this dance?" He rose one hand to the second-rate duelist.

Joey was dumbfounded. "Here? In public? In front of these rich-ass people? The tango at the Halloween party was one thing where we had masks on, but this-"

"Just shut up, and dance with me, Wheeler."

Joey was not liking that attitude. He crossed his arms with a glare. "And why should I dance with an asshole like you, moneybags?"

"I want...to make our friendship public."

"For publicity?"

Kaiba snorted. "Please Wheeler. I can think of other things to do for publicity than to dance with a half-wit like you."

"Not persuading me here, richboy."

"The point is Wheeler is that let's make it clear to every other idiot out there that we're friends. You'll be allowed to talk to me during school."

"Oooh! I get to talk to you during school?!" Joey mocked gasp. "It must be a dream come true! I get to talk to the the esteemed Seto Kaiba at school! All your fangirls are gonna pull their hair out when that happens, and hell's gonna freeze over!"

Kaiba felt a migraine creeping up with him. He was just trying to be civil, but Joey had to act like a child. He did not have time for this. "Fine, if you don't want to, then I'm sorry I asked a pathetic second-rate duelist like you to a dance."

"Whatever richboy." Joey grabbed his hands, and positioned them ready for a waltz. "Let's dance."

Kaiba rose an inquisitive eyebrow. "What changed your mind?"

The blond shrugged. "I like dancing with you."

Kaiba snorted. "Am I supposed to feel happy about that?"

"Shut up, and dance with me, Kaiba." The honey-eyed duelist mocked him.

Kaiba glared at him, and was going to snap back but then the waltz began.

Classical music started playing that made Joey feel like he was in a Cinderella movie. Kaiba took the lead naturally, and they moved among the crowd of dancers, yet they stuck out thanks to their combined charisma and Joey's red dress with his skirt flying up when he twirls.

Mokuba, Jona and Kisandra watched them flowed through the dance floor as if they were dancing in the sky, and could just float above the world. Joey's eyes were smiling as well as his lips while Kaiba's face was blank since he was one for perfection, but there was a glimmer in his blue eyes when it intently stares into the blond's honey pools.

Other people watched them, and whispers or chatters erupted in the room. Yet they were just white noise to the duelists.

"I am still amazed that a pup like you can dance." Kaiba commented. "I'm still waiting for you to step on one of my feet."

Joey sneered at him. "If ya really want, jerkface, I'd gladly step on your feet. And like I told you, I'm a hands on learner. I gotta be in on the action, not behind a desk like you can for hours." Joey let himself be twirled before they moved along the floor.

Kaiba smirked. His eyes dimly twinkling. Joey thought it must've been the lighting fooling his vision, but he let himself close in closer to the brunet with a satisfied smile. He told the CEO that he liked dancing with him, but the truth was that he loved it. Dancing with Kaiba just felt right.

Kaiba felt Joey's cheek against his shoulder. He felt a twinge of excitement when he felt that. His breathing elated, but he, by habit, hastely buried the happiness. Joey was in love with Ryou, and Kaiba was never going to fall in love. He frowned but then Joey drew back, twirled away from his grasp, and looked to him expectantly to take him again. Seto did so without hesitation, and the moment Joey was back in his arms, he felt the corner of his lip twitched.

He carried the actor up and they made circles that the background blurred in their vision to the point that it was just them who they could see. Kaiba then put him down, and had Joey twirl again.

He can remember how Joey's lips feel again on his lips. He wanted a kiss. He wanted his puppy's lips against his right now without a care of who's watching, but then Joey was tapped on the shoulder.

Kaiba looked to the intruder to see Kisandra. "Mind if I cut in?" Seto wanted her not to, but then Joey beamed, and told her, "Yeah! Of course! You are the real date here! Be nice, Seto. No stepping on feet."

The brunet glared at him. "Hmph. Don't make me laugh, mutt."

"If I want a maniac laughing, I'll go watch Batman and Joker movies." Joey teased, and then winked at Kisandra before heading his way off the ballroom dance floor, but out of nowhere, he was caught in the arms of a man. "Whoa!" He looked to who it was and saw that it was a very handsome guy. "Okay."

Kisandra giggled as Kaiba and her started dancing. She saw the kidnapping of Joey on the floor, and how he accepted the capture when he saw the bad man's face. "You and Wheeler danced lovely. It was as if you two were lovebirds by how you had his skirt flew up as you twirled him in and out of your gasp or carry him in your arms."

"It wasn't easy carrying his fat assets." Kaiba pointed out. Though he didn't mind. He had thought that Joey needed some meat on his bones anyway.

"That isn't nice to say. Though he does have an attractive asset." She continued to keep her eyes on Joey. Kaiba gave her a look that she could feel on her. She clarified, "He's a man. I can ogle him."

Kaiba didn't mean to glare a little too darkly than he intended to. He tried to control the intensity of his eyes to not give away anything of his hidden lust. "Don't tell me that you plan to make him a part of your harem?"

"I respect his sexuality, Mr. Kaiba. Though it doesn't mean I can't fantasize."

Kaiba snorted, "And here I thought you were a lady."

"I still am. Just not all the time." She gave a naughty leer to him.

Kaiba couldn't help leering back. The two then gave quite the show on the dance floor that had the other dancers stop to watch them. Joey had finally left the dance floor as they were starting. He went back to his table where Mokuba was sitting. The pre-teen pouted at his older brother and fiance.

Joey let him pout as he took out his phone from his handbag. He saw that Ryou had texted him.

_**R: I do not want to ruin your night, but I feel like I am back in that dark place. That dark place where I lose my conscience, and have no strength. No control over my whole life. I need you Joey.**_

Joey's eyes widened when he saw that that text came from more than half an hour ago!

"What's wrong Joey?" Mokuba asked.

"Sorry, Mokuba, but I gotta go. Ryou needs me."

But the rush paste that Joey was using, Mokuba became concerned. "Is he okay?"

"Nothing physical. But he needs me. His house is only four blocks away, so I'll run there." Joey slightly picked up his skirt as he skittered to get out. Kaiba and Labelle had just finished their dance. Seto looked to where Joey was to see him make his way out. The cross dresser accidentally left one of his shoes on the grand staircase as he made his way.

The blond ignored that he was missing one shoe. He took out the other one, and held it in his hand while he made his way through the sidewalk. It was raining, but he didn't care. When a friend sends that kind of text, then they are most likely are going to do something stupid, and that kind of stupid could be permanent.

Joey reached Ryou's apartment complex, and quickly made his way to the sixth floor to the first door. He rang the doorbell. He heard Ryou's voice cry out that he's coming. The blond felt a tiny bit of tension slipped off his shoulders. He needed to see how Ryou's conditions were.

When the door opened, and Joey saw the first trace of white hair, the blond quickly hugged the teen.

"Jo-Joey?!"

"I got your text! Ryou! Are you okay?!" Joey quickly inspected his arms, and raised his shirt to inspect his chest.

The platinum blond blushed as he tried to stop Joey from inspecting him. Before he confessed, it would've been somewhat fine, but now it was embarrassing. Especially since he just had a taught stomach unlike Joey's abs. "I-I'm fine! There's no need to check my body."

"Sorry. Just that I was scared that you might hurt yourself. Sorry I didn't get your text earlier."

"O-Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to sent you that text. I just have periods of depression."

"You shouldn't apologize!" His friend yelled angrily! "I want to know if my friends are sad or not because you're important. You're all important! You, Mai, everyone. If you have these periods of depression, I want you to text me or call me! If I don't answer, just leave a message and don't give up on me! I'll do my best to get to you, but if I can't, I'll call you or text you or skype you! Or whatever I can do to make you know that you mean so much to me, and that there's no need to be depressed!"

Ryou was profound by Joey's caring and kindness. He smiled contentedly. "You're wet. Let me get you a towel." The ex-hikari went to the hallway closet to bring out the drying cloth.

Joey then realized his state and how he was wetting the rug. "Oh, right." He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. It was raining when I ran here."

Ryou was astonish as he gave the towel. "You ran all the way here?"

The cross dresser wiped his body and then had his towel wrapped his hair. "It was only four blocks from the hotel where the charity gala was taking place."

"You ran half a mile bare feet to see me?" Ryou questioned, and then froze when Joey removed his dress off to reveal that the male was wearing red dance panties. Joey took out wipes from his handbag to take off his makeup. His hair was going to frizz up, but he can fix it when he gets home.

"Yeah. I didn't want to take a limo or taxi because there might have been traffic, and there was. Whew, but it was worth it to see that you're alright."

"I-I see. I'll get you another towel!" Ryou quickly went back to the hallway closet to take out another one. He gave it to Joey with his head down.

Joey became worried and clueless of why his friend was acting shy. Jona explained, **"You're naked."**

"No, I'm...Oh..." It was the cross dresser's turn to feel embarrassed. He wrapped the towel around his body like a girl. "Sorry, Ryou."

"It's okay." Though the teen refused to look at Joey. He went over to his living room window to see that rain was still pouring. "It looks like the rain won't be letting up for a while, and I don't think any of my clothes could fit you."

"That's okay. I can just put on my dress and make my way out if you want."

"No!" Ryou quieted himself. "I mean, no, you can spend the night here. I'll wash your dress and I think I have a pair of loose pajama pants and an extra large jacket I believe. I just hope I still have them. I'll go looking. Just make yourself comfortable." He went into his bed room with the door closed.

Jona pointed out, **"You know, I could possess your body, and have Pyrrhus make himself an umbrella or jacket."**

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

**"Ryou looked so happy! And I believe you have your deck in your handbag as well. Have fun, you lovebirds! I'll go visit darling Yugi while the two of you become...acquainted."** She winked and flew away with Pyrrhus.

Joey glared at her for making him feel even more embarrassed as if he had just been told my his own mother to go ahead and do the hanky panky. Ryou exited his room with jut a large jacket. "Sorry. I must have donated the pajama pants, but I still have the large jacket.

"Thanks." Joey put it on as he carefully took off the towel at the same time. It looked like the jacket only reach above his thighs. The two boys awkwardly stood there. Ryou was trying not to admire those creamy thighs, and Joey was aware the the teen was looking downward.

"Do you want to duel?!" The golden blond spluttered!

"Uh, ye-yes! I'll get my deck!"

This is so not going to be awkward. (Sarcasm)

._._._.

After the rain let up, Seto Kaiba and Kisandra Labelle were making there way to the limo together. Mokuba was going into a separate limo. The two were taken pictures of as they entered the limo.

"That was the most fun that I ever had in a charity gala." Kisandra commented.

"Why is that?" Kaiba bothered to question.

"Because of Jojo." She smirked as she saw that the shoe that Joey left behind was in Kaiba's hands. The male CEO figured that he could give it to Joey at school next week.

"Don't call him that." Seto lightly snapped.

"Irritated that we became friends? On the otherhand, how well did the dance work for you? Has it cleared your mind?"

"No."

"Then will this?" Kisandra kissed Seto.

Kaiba was not shocked, yet he did feel a flutter in his chest when she did it. It was not the same as Joey's, but it did not make Kaiba feel disgusted nor indifferent to this. It felt nice, and he could settle for nice at the moment.

At Ryou's place, Joey and the ex-hikari were playing duel monsters. The golden blond was creeped out by all the pale teen's cards. "Geez, you're givin' me the creeps, Ryou! Why do you have a deck of the undead and creepy-ass dolls!"

Ryou chuckled with a creepy, pleasant smile. "I always did love horror fiction. Watch out Joey, I may play a ghost card that has been rumored to haunt my opponent forever."

Joey felt cold shivers crawl through his skin like a bunch of spiders were poured on him! "Yo-You're kiddin' right?"

"Who knows?" Ryou just smiled at him.

"Okay! That's enough playing!"

"Why?" The platinum blond questioned innocently. "You already have Jona to protect you from this ghost, and isn't she technically a ghost?"

"There's a difference, and she's not here right now!" The cross dresser made an awry expression as he looked down at there cards. He could still win, but he didn't want to see what kind of haunted ghost card Ryou has with him now!

"I was only kidding, Joey." The shorter teen chuckled.

Joey glared at him as he was somewhat relaxed. "Oh really? Ha. Ha." he said dryly. "Dammit Ryou, how am I supposed to sleep now?"

"Maybe I could make you forget or at least distract you."

"Really? How?" Joey was drawing a blank, but it became clear when Ryou kissed him.

Wheeler knew that he had to stop Bakura, but then the kiss made his chest flutter and it was distracting.

Seto and Kisandra made their way into a hotel that was good in keeping their meeting a secret. The older brother had called Mokuba to inform him that he won't be home for the night.

Joey was lying down on the couch with a blanket over him. Ryou wanted him to use his bed instead, and he'll be on the couch, but the actor reassured him that it was okay.

"Are you comfortable?" The ex-hikari questioned.

"Yeah, I am." Joey said.

The two of them looked at each other, and then Ryou excused him, but Joey called for him.

"Ryou..." Joey knew Mokuba didn't want him dating Ryou, but then he thought of what Jona told him. "Do you want a whirlwind romance?"

Ryou was surprised by the offer, but then he broke into a smile. "Yes. I'd like that."

"Okay...Okay, but I'll be really straight with you. No public kissing! I only allow holding hands and maybe a kiss on the cheek! And I promise to stay loyal to you and make you lunch every school day, and I'll make your favorite dessert whenever you want, and I won't care of what the media or anyone thinks of us, and May's not going to be too busy for me, so I'll make sure I spend most of my time with you to let you know that I like you a lot, and that you make me happy, and you don't have to try too hard for me, cuz you're already awesome, and I-"

"Joey! Joey, calm down." Ryou sat down on the edge of the couch. "You don't have to try too hard for me either. But I am happy to know that you truly do care about me."

"I always did. Except this time, kissing you is one of my options to make you feel better. And I really like kissing you."

"Me too."

The two shared a cherishing kiss.

._._._.

A/N: Yeah...Joey's going to date Ryou until after graduation, and Kisandra and Seto are engaged! So yeah...Seto will still want Joey, and Joey will still want Seto, but they are willing to move on from each other.

But how long are they going to ignore their feelings? Read on!

And thank you all for your reviews!


	12. Chapter 12

"So...you're not mad?" Joey asked Mokuba. The two were at the cheesecake factory having delicious cake and drinks. The blond had just told his boyfriend that he wanted to date Ryou for the time being until after graduation. They made a pact that they couldn't date without the other person's permission, but Joey really wanted to date Ryou.

"No." Mokuba said bluntly as he took a bite. "I get it that you had to follow your heart, and I'm happy for you."

"Really?" Joey gave him a comedic suspicious eye where he's leaning forward and facing sideways as he interrogated, "You're really not mad, or are you planning to secretly kill Ryou when I'm not looking?"

The pre-teen snorted, "No. I'm not. Jona made a good point. I gotta stop acting childish and be grown up already."

"But you still gotta have fun like a kid."

"I know that. And I'll never stop having fun like a kid, but for the other important stuff, I got to not let my personal feelings get in the way." Mokuba clarified.

Joey blinked at him as he saw that the squirt in front of him got really mature behind his back. He then grinned and ruffled his hair. "Atta boy! Let's celebrate your big step to maturity! Hey! Can we get a cherry, chocolate cheesecake?!"

Mokuba asked, "So does Yugi and the others know?"

"Not yet. Ryou and I are going to tell them at school." Joey blushed with a stupid grin.

Mokuba just smiled for him, although he felt a twinge in his chest when he remembered Noe.

"So how is your search on the toy dragons going?" Joey asked.

"It's going great!" He forced a smile for a moment. He frowned, "I think it's in one of the storages, except I have to do one thing in order to get to it legally."

"What's that?"

"I have to talk to a cousin of mine and Seto's, and he's in Japan. The storage is in Japan, but I...don't want to talk to the family who turned their backs against us."

"But that's all in the past, Mokuba." Joey immediately held his hand. A waitress had put the cherry, chocolate cheesecake on the table, but the blond ignored it in favor for Mokuba. "And they're still family. And no matter how crappy family can treat you, living in hatred and anger isn't the way to go."

Mokuba understood but he wanted to hold onto his bitter feelings. He looked down as he forced his tears back when he thought of what happened to him and Seto because of them. "But I can't forgive them like you can Joey! I-If they hadn't sent us to that orphanage-"

"Then we wouldn't be here."

Mokuba became slightly confused. He looked up to see Joey's childish grin. "I get it that you went through a lot of pain Mokuba." The duelist gave the younger Kaiba a gentle squeeze of the hand. "But you got to remember that that pain made you stronger, and maybe life could've been better without the pain, but it led you here. It gave you the chance to have us become best friends, have Kaibaland become a reality, and go through adventures that not everyone gets to experience."

The black haired pre-teen pondered on that. He will admit that he had fun the last few years since he was eleven, and he loved what he's gained from it. Although he despised what he had also lost, but then that was balanced with what he loved. Yet, did he had the strength to forgive.

Jona sensed this so asked permission to speak. Joey allowed her. Mokuba noticed the change. Jona had used Joey's regulare voice despite it being somewhat principal to use the female voice in public. "Mokuba,"

"Jona?"

She nodded. "Do not force yourself to forgive at the moment. You need to create steps for yourself such as forgive others before forgiving the true enemy at hand for your own goal."

"But who else is there to forgive?"

"What about your parents. You told me that they died in a fire caused by your father."

"But I don't blame him."

"If that is true, then when was the last time that you had visited his grave."

Mokuba was silent. He couldn't answer because the last time was at the funeral almost nine years ago. He hadn't visited them since Seto hadn't talked about it, and the topic never really crossed his mind since he was told to forget the past.

Jona took the silence as her answer, and then answered, "I believe you know your first step."

Joey quickly took back his body when he saw the troubling expression that Mokuba was sporting. "But you don't need to do it! Facing parents you haven't seen in awhile can be hard, so you don't need to rush in!"

Mokuba was silent as he was trying to calm down his emotions. Facing his parents graves sounded harder than facing a traitorous relative, the younger Kaiba didn't want to talk to Seto about this because the answer would be obvious. He then began considering the importance of those toys. Did he really want them after all? It was their father's fault after all...

Then the pre-teen suddenly found himself in Joey's arms. "C'mere. Whatever you chose Mokuba, I'll support it, but you don't have to chose now."

Mokuba felt comforted, yet he was unsure of when he would be fine with the idea of facing his parents' graves.

._._._.

Kaiba was lying on his bed with his usual indifferent sleeping expression. Yet he was startled awake when he felt a pair of hands were on him. He was confused since he was not the type of person to sleep with someone overnight, and these were too intimate to be Mokuba. He cracked his eyes open to see golden bed hair.

Joey was smiling above him. His honey eyes twinkling by the sunlight that bathed into his room. ¨G'mornin'." He sang. "What do you want for breakfast, baby?" He teased.

Seto knew this must be a dream so he played along, "Just coffee."

Joey snorted, "Ya are such a caffeine freak, Moneybags. I'll make you a sandwhich that taste so good that after a few bites yur gonna feel full. Ya have work early right?"

Kaiba loved that. He loved this. He knew it was a dream, and Joey might act entirely different in the morning since the blond teen had work as an actor, so mornings like these seemed impossible to happen. But Joey was completely his ideal type more so than he already was, he would spoil him on rare soft mornings like this.

"Yes," Kaiba sat up, and kissed his bed partner. A smile on his face. "But let's enjoy a few more minutes in bed together."

"Uhm, who are you and what have you done to my Seto?" Joey asked with a baffled, suspicious expression.

The brunet stopped his snort to say seriously, "I don't remember ever giving you the priviledge to call me Seto or yours for that matter."

"But this is your dream, and you made me say these words." The blond grinned as if he won a prize at an amusement park booth.

Kaiba matter-of-factly said, "Dreams can be unpredictable despite how much control one has."

"Whatevah. But we can't cuddle or do anything intimate."

"Why is that?" Kaiba said instead of saying, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Because Kisandra and I are friends now, and the real Joey Wheeler would nevah betray a friend."

Kaiba snorted, "We have an open relationship."

"Closed. Open." Joey shrugged. "Either way, Joey Wheeler isn't the type to touch what's not his. Besides, it's too awkward and I'm in love with Ryou."

"Hn. I don't like this dream. It's about time I wake up from this nightmare." He registered his mind to wake him up now.

Joey clucked his tongue at him. "You hafta face reality Seto. You can't dream of me no more."

The young man stared at Joey as if he had just taken away his pen during work without warning. He glared next. He wanted to continue dreaming of Joey. He had told himself that he would stop for favor of other people, but he never truly meant it. To stop dreaming of his puppy...

No, he had to stop. He wasn't in love with Joey. He should stop lusting after him. They are only friends, and that was all they were going to be.

"Don't worry. I won't."

Joey gave him half of a smile. The blond obviously didn't believe him which was uncharacteristic of Joey who was usually clueless of everything. The duelist with the red eyes black dragon got on his hands and knees to approach the brunet with a playful smile. He ghosted over his ear to whisper, "Stop being such a goddamn proud motherfucker, ya prick. I won't be around forever."

"What do you mean?" Kaiba became concerned. A strict expression on his face that the figment Joey saw when he leaned back.

The amber-eyed beauty smirked as his hair darkened balck and his eyes glowed an ominous red. "We all die, but it's going to be my destiny to die."

Out of nowhere Joey's throat was caught in a dog collar that was too tight for the duelist. Kaiba froze for a split second by shock before reaching out too late when his puppy was dragged out of the bed from him, and was now hanging above the ground by his leash. Joey was fighting to breath as his feet pleaded for the floor.

"Face it Seto." Seto froze when he heard that all too familiar condescending voice. He saw Gozaburo who was holding the leash that was choking Joey. "You can never escape from my wrath. And now your first friend is going to face the consequences. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"No! Stop!" Kaiba got up, but then in reality he fell down on the floor off his bed.

He was confused for a moment as he was breathing irregularly, and his body covered in cold sweat. He was not terrified. Not terrified for himself at least. But it was just a dream. Just a dream...

._._._.

Joey was entering his highschool. He was immediately surrounded by his fanclub who had gifts and choice of topics to discuss. One important one was the other campaigns he was attending for children in need for donations. His fanclub had been vigorously taking part of any campaigns that Joey took part of to support him, so there were about fifty or more people from his school either from his fanclub or not who has been taking part when they had the free time or vehicle.

He truly felt lucky to have such devoted fans who'll help him through almost anything. Though he had to have time with his friends, too. Yet, he promised to appear in his fanclub's meeting since he was free for the day.

When he entered the classroom he looked to Seto's desk to see that the teenager was there reading a book without any colorful cover. Joey remembered of what the brunet said at the charity gala. A grin broke out! Only Yugi and Tea were present in their classroom. Tristan looked to be coming now with Duke. Ryou was no where in sight, so the blond found this as an opportunity.

Joey approached Kaiba from behind and looked over his shoulder to see what sort of book he was reading. The blond immediately recognized it as one of the books he once read at a library.

Kaiba glanced over his shoulder to who dared to breathe over his shoulder, but then he saw that it was Joey. The young man who was still wearing the school uniform. His blond hair that was now reaching his waist and his bangs was still there and was well taken care of. The blond's makeup was warm and simple which made him look natural and cute.

The CEO was about to say something, but then he remembered the sight of Joey choking in front of him. The image flashed in front of the male before it reverted back.

Joey looked at him funny. Kaiba looked like he just saw a ghost by how pale and slightly wide-eyed he got. "What? I was just lookin'."

"Uhm..." Kaiba looked away and cleared his throat regaining some color back to him. "What do you want, mutt?"

"Ouch. And here I thought that now we're publicly friends, you'd be less of an ass. Should've know bettah than think moneybags here would tweak," He wrung his fingers for emphasis, "your attitude just a tiny bit by layin' off the dog names."

Kaiba snorted, "I think my attitude would need more than a tweak to get me to stop calling you your really species."

Joey glared at him. Lips tight. "Yer lucky we're in public asshole."

"You've always humiliated yourself, Wheeler. Don't pretend to be someone you aren't."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" That was a genuine question.

"I mean that don't act like you're all in control and proper. Honestly, I didn't think you'd become a fake."

"Oh fuck no!" Joey grabbed Kaiba's collar and had his fist at the ready. "Say that to my fuckin' face again, you heartless stick!" He demanded but the brunet just smirked at him.

"Joey no!" Ryou grabbed his fist. The blond looked to him, and then immediately let go of the brunet. "I thought you said you'd stop fighting!"

"We-We weren't fighting! You know how Kaiba and I are!"

Kaiba straightened his school uniform, and glared at Ryou. He remembered of how Joey ran out leaving one of his shoes to go see him. Then Seto scolded himself for forgetting the shoe! And then he scolded himself for making himself do it! He'll just have one of his men deliver it to the blond's apartment in a box!

Ryou didn't look convinced with the ex-gangster's excuse. "Well, that depends on who started this. Yugi?"

The shorter teen chuckled, as he snitched, "Joey was peeking over Kaiba's shoulder."

"Thanks a lot Yug'!" He cannot believe his best friend had just did that! Tea must be the reason! Teaching him of how to snitch on his friends as if that was the right thing to do! Damn that woman! She was even laughing behind her hand!

Jona was just enjoying the view with Pyrrhus sleeping on her chest.

"You should apologize, Joey." Ryou told him.

"What? No! I'm not apolo-" Joey stopped when he saw Ryou flashed him those cute chocolate eyes and squeeze of the hand. He faced Kaiba and grumbled, "I'm sorry."

Seto crossed his arms with a grimace. He saw that the two held hands which meant only one thing: They were dating. "Whatever." He sat back on his seat, and returned to his book.

Joey felt rejected by the reply. He did sort of had his hopes high to have Seto actually act like a damn friend, but then he should've known better. Gawd, he felt like such an idiot.

But then he forgot his pitiful thought when he felt Ryou's hand squeeze around his hand. He hadn't realized he was holding his hand, so blushed and felt a shiver through his arm. Ryou winked, "Come on Joey." He gave a placid smile to his friends while Joey was making an awkward frown. His friends could tell that he was just shy, and they were greatly surprised!

Ryou?! Joey?! Together?!

"What's with the hand holding guys?" Duke grinned sexily at them. Joey frowned on purpose, and glared at him.

Tristan's jaw drop. "Whoa! No way! You two?!"

Tea gasped, "No way! Then that means all six of us are dating now! That means that when we all hang out, we're actually having a triple date!"

Yugi simple gave a, "Congratulations!"

Joey's fangirls immediately spread the news throughout the school when they witnessed this. Some of them took pictures, and someone cried out for them to kiss. Ryou apologized and explained that Joey wasn't one for public display of affections. Kaiba was glad because he was on the verge of ripping his book apart and chucking it at Ryou's head in hopes that it would cause a chain of event that ends with the former psychopath dying a cruel, cruel, humiliating death.

The bell rang, so everyone had to quiet down, and let classes be. At lunch, Joey gave Ryou the lunch he made for him which looked very high class. All his friends looked at it with drooling mouths.

"Dammit, Joey! Don't make me jealous!" Tristan yelled.

Duke glared at him. "What? Now you want to date him?"

"No! I was talking about the food! Now mine looks stale in comparison."

Tea looked jealous as well, and also the fact that Joey was being a better girl/boyfriend! Yugi was just smiling for them. Everyone showed their love differently!

Kaiba was not jealous. Or so he told himself. He only got Joey to make him breakfast and lunch once, and he can still remember of how they bought his tastebuds to life as if everything else that he's been eating was cardboard.

After lunch, Kaiba, Joey and Duke were all in trigonometry class. The blue-eyed genius, and green-eyed dice master were both surprised to find Joey in this college class course when the second semester started. It turned out that due to Mokuba's help, Joey was able to pass a pre-calculus test in order to enter in so he wouldn't have to take any math classes during college if he decide on a degree that would require him to take them.

Their teacher was teaching them about how to find the true direction that a plane would head with how fast it was going and how fast the wind was blowing. The teacher had asked Seto of how fast he wanted the plane to go. The brunet gave a random number in the hundreds.

The teacher then asked Joey for a number on the wind, but the way the teacher phrased it, it was, "So Mr. Wheeler, how hard will you blow Mr. Kaiba?" (This actually happened in my trigonometry class, and it was between two guys.)

Joey's jaw dropped as he was speechless. Everyone else in the class giggled. Duke winked at him, and Kaiba just mentally grumbled of how immature everyone was, but then he was also interested of his mutt's answer. It was the total highlight of his day when he saw Joey make a funny face as there was the hint of a blush rushing across the bridge of his nose. Kaiba smirked.

Joey gave a quick number that was only a hundred higher than Kaiba's own. The teacher continued on with the lecture. The older man appeared to have acknowledged of what he asked the blond, but he seemed to think that it was not an inappropriate question since he meant no innuendo. Joey knew that but it was still embarrassing! He may...still have a crush on Seto...He loved Ryou, but...first crush never died.

After school, Ryou decided to spend time with Joey in his fan club meeting. The platinum blond insisted on going to really know of what happened in there.

Kaiba, on the other hand, was leaving to work as usual with a bitter feeling in his chest when he saw the two walking together holding hands.

When he reached there after a quick change of clothes, he found Kisandra there talking with Mokuba at the break room. He entered the room and his presence was immediately noticed. "What are you two talking about?"

Kisandra replied, "We were talking about how this is going to work."

"This?" Kaiba rose an eyebrow.

Mokuba explained, "Kisandra knows I started out not liking her because I didn't like what you two are doing, but I decided to man up and accept it." Seto felt proud that his younger brother was continuing to grow up, though that gave the older brother a faint sense of becoming lonelier since there will be a day that his beloved grown up brother will have to leave him. "I just hope that you two won't fight against each other."

"And we won't." Kisandra reassured him. "Your brother and I found common ground with how our businesses shall work, and the 'Kaiba & Labelle Corporation' sounds quite attractive, does it not."

Mokuba was baffled. "But won't you be taking our last name?"

"Through marriage but not through business. Mr. Kaiba and I agreed that my maiden name will remain on the new logo after we marry."

Kaiba clarified, "Only because if anything goes wrong, it'll be easy to change the name for our combined corporation so there wouldn't be any unneeded fuss over it. Time is money." He determined. Kisandra smirked at that commanding tone. Mokuba chose to look away.

The younger Kaiba was going to be mature, but then he just knew deep in his own gut that this wasn't meant to be. His older brother shouldn't fall in love with another CEO. That just adds more to the work, and less of what Seto really needs, and that's to be pulled away from work.

He then got a text. "I'm gonna leave now."

"Where and why and with whom?" Seto crossed his arms with a critical eye.

"I agreed to meet up with Joey this afternoon to talk. We're going to the park."

"To talk about what? Didn't you two speak yesterday?"

"We did, but I want to talk to him today, too. Don't worry, Seto, Roland will be with me." Mokuba made his way through his brother.

Kisandra gave a kind, "Be safe, and tell Jojo that I said hi." Mokuba expectedly did not responded back. Then she felt a glare on her. "I talked to him because Jojo told me that I need to be in his good graces if I even want a sliver of hope that this marriage would work. But do not worry, I will not manipulate him or do anything atrocious to him. I am sorry if you feel that I should have asked for your permission, but I believe that I do not have to ask your permission as if your younger brother will be harmed by me by a simple talk."

"I would like it if you kept this strictly business."

"And that is what I am doing. Your brother is the vice president of this company, and I, as a fellow business owner has the right to speak with the second person in power like he is. Now tell me this, Mr. Kaiba, are you keeping this strictly business?"

Kaiba's glare turned deadly but she glared back just as fiercely. "I am having second thoughts of this engagement of ours."

"Then you are only proving to me that you are not man enough to be the president of Kaiba Corporation if you cannot handle a simple engagement correctly." The woman dared to say, and that made the brunet's blood boil.

"Listen here, and listen well, I took control of Kaiba Corporation when I was ten, and no, it wasn't handed down to me by my step-father. I took it away from him from my little hands, and changed it from the ground up into the number one gaming corporation in the world! So do not come into my building and claim that I am not man enough to the president of my own damn company!"

"And I had to prove myself to my father who never glanced my way that I deserved the corporation! You may have your reasons to take the company from your step-father, but I had a real father, and I could've taken the corporation from him at your age as well!"

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because he was actually family! Yes, he neglected me for years as a child, but I knew that at some point he would realize that I was the true heiress of our corporation, and I did that when I was nine! And I proudly stood by my father's side as the vice president of Labelle Corporation!"

"Hn. What's your point?"

"My point is that I know how to treat my family as either a professional or a loved one when the moment was right. Your younger brother and I was having a meeting of your own. I understand your need to protect him, but you must understand that your protection keeps him weak."

Seto was not having any of that! "My protection keeps him safe!"

"Safe and yet vulnerable! I am aware of the number of times your brother had been kidnapped! And I can see that he does not know how to actually fight. I knew my father wasn't going to protect me when I needed him because he expected me to be great, so I fought alone both verbally and physically. I taught myself how to survive. Mokuba doesn't know how. Think on that." Kisandra checked her watch. "I need to leave for a business meeting. Consider of what I said. I did not do it to hurt your feelings, but for you to understand of your flaws." She walked away.

Kaiba watched her leave, and then death glared all his workers who heard. They dilligently went back to work.

Seto controlled his anger, and then went to his office to work. His secretary was careful with her tone when she spoke with him about his day's plan. The elder Kaiba considered his plans, but then had his secretary cancel them. He be damned about anyone's opinion about his professionalism, but then at the moment, he needed to talk to Mokuba right now.

So he called his brother to tell him to stop and cancel his plans with Joey since they needed to talk. It's not because of Kisandra's words. He be damned to have that woman to influence him, but secretly he knew she did. He hated that. It was bad enough that Wheeler could do it.

"Don't you have plans, Seto?" Mokuba asked over the phone.

"No, I cancelled all of them. We need to talk. NOW." He demanded.

Although, they weren't effective on his little brother. Mokuba suggested, "If you cancelled your plans, then why don't you come to the park with me?"

"No. It's a private family matter."

"Whatever it is, big brother, I'm sure Joey won't mind. He won't tattle about it or anything. You also got to get out more."

"Dammit, Mokuba, I-"

"Please!"

Seto groaned. He didn't have time to argue with his little brother. "Fine! I'm coming. Hold the limo for me."

"Oh, Joey decided to pick me up in his truck. It would attract less attention, and he prepared a picnic basket, and we were going out pretty far to a park where there's less people."

Kaiba grunted. "Hn. Whatever. Let's go."

The Kaiba brothers had walked out to the front of the building to find a red pick up truck waiting for them. Seto thought it was tacky and unoriginal, but he didn't verbally complained as Mokuba sat beside Joey, and Seto sat beside his brother. There was the fresh smell of hot bread at the back.

Kaiba felt his stomach become an empty cave that howled as a leave flew out to emphasize of how there was nothing but wind in there. "How long is the drive?"

"Just over an hour away." Joey replied. "You can handle that can't you richboy?"

"Shut up and drive." Seto grumbled.

Mokuba chirped up, "Seto's just mad that Kisandra talked to me without him knowing!"

Joey made a half grimace as one eyebrow rose up. "What? But she's gonna be your fiance'. Yer supposed to expect her talkin' to this little guy."

"It's none of your business, mutt. In fact, shouldn't you be on a date with your boyfriend?"

"Ryou had some stuff ta take care of. Don't tell me yer jealous." Joey gave a cheeky grin as he kept his eyes on the road.

Kaiba glared at him. He really wished that he could kill people with his glare at the moment. Life would be so much easier if he could. He was jealous but he wasn't going to tell him.

Though Mokuba had to play along. "Oh Seto's so jealous! Aren'tcha big brother."

"Okay, first off, 'aren'tcha' isn't a real word. I expect you to speak actual words, Mokuba."

Joey snorted. "Please, Mokuba's just picking up on the slang like all regular middle school kids do."

"And I bet a lot of regular middle school kids join gangs and sells drugs, too."

"Hey, I never sold drugs! And I didn't have a lot of options."

Kaiba snorted, "What could you possibly mean? You had plenty of choices, but you must have been stupid to realized that you did."

Joey was silent. The Kaiba brothers stared at him. There were stopped at a red light, so there was nothing stopping the blond from answering.

"Joey?" Mokuba questioned with concern.

The blond gave him a warm, reassuring smile. "It's nothin' kid. Just somethings in the past you don't want to talk about."

Mokuba frowned at that answer. "But it's all in the past, so it shouldn't matter of whatever happened. I won't look at you differently. I'll have Seto plug his ears so you can tell me."

"No...you're right. It's all in the past so I should talk about this."

Seto interrupted, "I don't think I want you to tell my brother any of your gang stories."

Mokuba yelled at him, "Gawd, Seto! Stop treating me like a kid! And stop being so damn rude all the time!"

Seto straightened up. "Excuse me?! You better watch your mouth, young man!"

"Yes, I am a young man, so stop treating me like a kid!"

"You don't even know-"

"That's cuz you never-"

"Here we go again! I do it to pro-"

"I don't need your pro-"

"You don't mean tha-"

"I do! I do mean that! You're such a hypocrite!"

"That's it! Wheeler, turn this truck around!"

"No! Joey just stop! Kaiba can have Roland drop him home!"

"I am no-"

"Yes I a-"

"But I-"

"No! You-"

"ENOUGH!" Joey yelled. "You two obviously have a lot of shit of bricks on your shoulders right now, and I want you to shut up for about five minutes!"

"I will not be ordered by the likes of you, Wheeler." Kaiba told him, offended that the blond thought he could order him! Then suddenly Joey swerved the car to have it parked to the side out of the road. "Are you crazy?!"

"Nope. I can see that you and Mokuba needed to talk, so I'm just going to leave you two to it." The blond took his car keys, and got out.

Jona appeared beside him. **"I supposed we can take the time for me to teach you some new fighting moves."**

Joey shrugged. No one was going to stop at a freeway to stare at him for long. "Let's do it."

Seto and Mokuba were quiet and looking away from each other. The responsible, older brother inwardly sighed as he gave his pride away for his younger brother's sake. "Mokuba, You know I do what I do to protect you."

Mokuba sulked. "I know Seto, but I'm thirteen. And you didn't have to act like a jerk to Joey! He's gotten through a tough time, too!"

"Hmph. Please, I've done worse to him."

Mokuba gave him a tight frown. "Wow, that's so reassuing." He sarcastically said. "Why did you even bring up his gang past anyway? You know what his past gang leader tried to do to him. You remember the scar on his cheek right? Diesel Kane did that before the police broke in, but the guy still shot Joey. If it weren't for his bulletproof gear, he could have-"

"I get it, Mokuba." Seto project his voice, feeling agitated by this conversation. They were supposed to talk, but now Wheeler was part of their conversation. "What do you want me to do? Apologize?!"

"Yes! Or is your pride too shallow to let you do it?!"

"Where is all this attitude coming from? Are you rebelling against me, Mokuba?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes in front of him. "Yes Seto! I am rebelling against you because I have a mind of my own now where I don't want to defend you against other people if you are never going to change your attitude! Joey is your friend! And yet, you still WANT to treat him like dirt!"

"Why is this about him?! I only wanted to talk about us! Kisandra made the presumption that you are vulnerable because of me!"

"Well, screw your fiance'!" Mokuba cried out passionately. "Joey says she's great! And you know what, she is! But she's not great for you! I get it that it's just business but why marriage?! Why does everything except me have to be about business! I won't always be here Seto! I want to travel the world, and maybe be an archeologist or something! But I am scared to leave because of you!"

Seto was silent as guilt filled his chest. He had no idea that Mokuba felt this way. That he felt trapped because of him. He said the first thing that could come to mind without knowing the obvious that it would be a cruel lie. "There's nothing to worry about, Mokuba. I can do fine alone."

"Don't do that." The pre-teen said disappointedly. It was soft but the softness came from the smooth exterior of a sledgehammer that slammed Seto's pride to the ground with cracks beneath it. "Because when I leave, you're going to do nothing but work. And hell, it might make our company better than it is now, but what can you gain from that than what you already have. You already have power, respect, money, people at your feet and bed. And now you have Kisandra who will help you to the very top."

"She's only there to stop everyone from getting on my case with my love life." Seto corrected, but that didn't change much from what Mokuba said. He tried to find a remedy, but he didn't know what that is. He can't socialize with people normally. He can't be normal. He's been trained to be something above normal. "What...What do you have me do, Mokuba? I'll do it." He didn't want to be a burden to the only person he ever truly loved and cared for.

"I can't give you that answer because I don't even know what that is." Mokuba replied. He wanted to say it could start with Joey romantically, but then the blond was dating Ryou.

The two brothers were silent for a moment before Mokuba decided to go get Joey to get back in. He exited the car to see Joey succeeding in doing several extreme gymnastic moves.

The Kaiba brother's grim mood suddenly turned to one of astonishment. Mokuba saw that Joey was grinning with satisfaction which told him that it was Joey and not Jona. Wow, what have the two of them been doing behind his back?

"Joey?" Mokuba questioned but then the blond did another round of flips and spins in the air as if he had been trained by a foreign gymnastic instructor.

**"Excellent!"** Jona cheered. **"An 8!"**

_"8?!"_

**"Your end landing could still do some work."**

_"I nevah knew my ancient self would be such an olympic mom."_

**"The olympics are my pride and joy."** The Grecian princess grinned joyously. **"In your history books, only men were allowed to watch and attend the olympics, but I was a proud audience member, attendant and judge in the olympics since I fought bravely by the men's side during war. I am proud to have trained your mind and your body to be able to do the basics of perfecting your technique for becoming an honorable contestant if you wished to make an appearance at one." **She giddily squealed. She calmed herself and then said,** "But what I to say the most is that I'm proud of you my dearest Joey."**

_"Aw geeze! Yer gonna put somethin' in my eye!"_

"Joey!" Mokuba called out to him louder. "Did Jona teach you that?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! She's been teaching me how to fight and do what you saw right there!"

"Sweet! I wanna learn how to fight?!"

"Mokuba." Seto said but then thought about it for a moment. "I can find you a better fighting instructor than Joey."

Joey was about to yell, but then Jona suddenly took his body. She whispered an apology before she hugged Mokuba's shoulders. Seto's eyes widened when he immediately noticed something wrong with Joey. "Oh but I have the time to teach Anpu-I mean Mokuba! I happen to know various forms of fighting that would surprise you Kaiba." That settled it. This wasn't Joey. This wasn't his Joey. The lowered voice, the disappearance of the child-like expressions, and the way the blond held his posture, it wasn't Joey. There was no reason for Joey to act like someone else right now, and he didn't like it.

Yet his logical mind hit him. This had to be Joey. Unless the blond suddenly got a personality disorder right at this moment, it was still illogical. Kaiba was just seeing and hearing things or looking into the details too much. He shook his head, and then looked down at Joey as if he was inferior which was the natural look Kaiba was practically born with.

"What makes you think I would trust you with making sure my brother isn't physically injured during your lessons?"

"You could watch or have us video taped." The way Joey talked with his lowered, matured voice made Joey grimace. "And how can Mokuba possibly toughen up without a few bruises every now and then. It's one thing to know technique, but another to know endurance."

"Okay, what's wrong with you, Wheeler? Why are you talking as if your balls finally dropped?"

Oh hell no! Joey took back his body. "What was that Moneybags?! At least people know I have balls unlike you who practically don't have any, ya damn robot!"

Kaiba inwardly sighed in relief as he gave a small smile. He didn't care about the logic that kicked him to notice that he sighed for no reason. Seto was just glad that Joey was back to now. He then smirked. "I rather have no balls, then pathetic ones like yours, Wheeler."

Joey had a hot angry blush on his face that made him look ridiculously cute. "Say dat ta my face ya snobby asshole!" He grabbed the brunet by the collar with a threatening fist in sight.

"Let me make it clear to you, Wheeler. You have small balls."

"That's it!"

"Stop!" Mokuba yelled. "Geeze! Can you two stop acting so immature around each other!"

Kaiba huffed, "The mutt's the only immature one. I'm acting civil."

"Civil my ass! You insulted me when I just suggested that Jo-I could teach Mokuba!"

"I'd really like that." Mokuba commented. It's be super cool to learn how to fight from an Ancient Grecian Princess Dragon Warrior! "We've seen through the news and videos that Joey is a capable fighter."

"He has his own career to concentrate on if he plans on keeping it." Kaiba pointed out.

Jona asked for permission, and then entered Joey's body. She spoke, "It's to simply teach technique which I can tell that Mokuba with his genius intellect can easily understand. The rest depends on his growth of his physical stature from his gym classes."

Joey looked at Jona funny. "Are you even trying to sound like me?"

**"No. It's too entertaining to scare Kaiba."**

The young man was baffled. He looked at Kaiba, and still didn't get it. Seto always looked pissed or an asshole all the time to him. Sometimes there were moments of that softening of the expression that turns Joey to jelly, but that wasn't important since he wasn't seeing the expression. Kaiba just looked pissed. As if something was stolen from him and Joey was the crook.

_"He doesn't look scared."_

**"Of course he doesn't, but he knows I'm not you, and he knows there's no reason for you to act as some other character at the moment."**

_"I still don't get it."_

Jona gave him a sly smirk, yet soft glimmering amber eyes with his face. A face the real Joey wouldn't pull off in real life because it just didn't feel natural to do. Jona told him,** "You will understand when you stop doubting your abilities and try."**

_"I'm not doubtin'!"_

**"Joey, you could be as great or even greater than Kaiba or even Yugi. You've excelled because when you knew I believed in you, you no longer had doubt. Just as Mokuba has to conquer forgiveness, you need to conquer your doubt."**

Joey crossed his arms and looked away with a strained expression. Jona let him be. Mokuba had been pleading to his brother while they telepathically talked, and then Kaiba conceded. "Fine. But I expect the lessons to be taken at my house."

Joey took over his body. "You have a gym?"

"Of course I have a gym, idiot. Now that we have that settled, should be bother still going to the park."

"Hm. No." Joey said. Both Kaiba brothers looked to him since it didn't sound like that was the end of it. The brown-eyed beauty grinned at them. "How about we head to the beach!"

"No." Kaiba rejected.

"Then Mokuba and I can go. Right Momo?"

"Momo?"

Mokuba gave a roll of the eyes with a shake of the head and a smile, "It's just to get on your nerves Seto, but yeah, let's go to the beach!"

"I-" Then he was suddenly attacked by two powerful puppy eyes. Grown men, his ass! But he couldn't resist them! "FINE!"

"Great! I actually have my bathing suit in the truck. Do you guys want to head to your mansion?"

Mokuba replied, "No. It'll be too late to get to the beach if we do that. Are there any close beach shops at the beach we're going to?"

"Yup! Let's go!" The three of them got back into the red truck and the travel to there was noisy with the radio being blasted and Joey and Mokuba were singing off key on purpose. Kaiba swore a migraine was forming, but he tolerated since his brother looked to be happy.

At the beach, the Kaiba brothers went to the best looking beach shop while Joey went to get dressed at the beach while picking there spot.

At the shop, Kaiba complained, "I cannot believe I let you two dragged me to the beach." He bought a wet-suit. Mokuba purchased a pair of trunks.

Roland could have bought their swimwear, yet they hadn't shopped together for like...forever. So it was nice to do something new for once together. They ignored the female cashier who was trying not to ogle at the elder Kaiba as she also tried not to stumble on chiming them through. They went back to a dressing room to get dressed and then exited to get to the beach.

They looked around for Joey, and were slightly not surprised to find the blond surrounded by people taking his pictures or making selfies with him while also asking him questions and requesting signatures.

Kaiba glared when he noticed that it was mostly shirtless or bared chest muscular males who were surrounding him. Freaks. Don't they know Joey is a guy? Isn't weird to find an extremely cute blond guy in a bathing suit on the beach? Shouldn't they keep their distances instead of trying to ask him out or get into the water where their foul hands could not be seen if they even dared to think to touch HIS PUPPY?!

"Uuuh...Seto?" Mokuba felt a chill run throughout his body when he saw the empty look on his brother's face. The look of a psychopathic killer that was engaged to kill, and it's an empty expression because Kaiba would become fully submersed into making sure he kept his eyes wide and recording every single second of taking the life.

Joey then noticed them. He quckly told them that his friends had arrived, and they do not like a crowd. The men and some female still lingered (mostly the men) just to say their goodbyes, promises and whatever bullshit they wished to say. One of them even dared to kiss his hand!

If Kaiba had psionic powers, then something would've snapped in the air and behead that guy clean off. When they were all gone, Joey waved for them to come. Kaiba found it weird but also pleasing to see what his puppy was dressed as. The mutt decided to go with a navy blue swimsuit dress that had a tiered pleated skirt and a v-neck halter-strap. His golden hair was tied up and he appeared to have a bit of water-proof makeup on that was enough to fool a person into believing that he was the opposite sex.

"Hey guys! I see that you two bought your swimsuits!" Joey looked at Kaiba with a funny look. "A wetsuit? Really? I was thinking more of a speedo." He said casually but then realized that it came out wrong. "No-Not that I'm thinking of you in a speedo! Ew! No! Anyway, I called Kisandra if she could join us but she can't. I tried Ryou, but he can't. So it's just the three of us. Do you wanna build a sand castle Mokuba? Roland informed me while you two were shopping that Kaiba has some calls to make, and he's standing over at that bar if you're wondering. I honestly don't get how you guys find it natural to have a guy look at you twenty-four seven."

Kaiba merely smirked, "Hn. You should think of getting yourself a bodyguard, pup. There's a lot of crazy people out there who wouldn't mind kidnappin' you."

"Crazy people like you who kidnapped Yugi's dad over a card?"

Mokuba gave an, "OOOOh."

"I was...a different person at the time." Kaiba sounded like he had to force the words out.

Joey snorted, but then he had a soft smile on his face. He was also a different person back then, and wasn't proud so he knew better than to continue teasing. "Well, whatever. Go take your calls. C'mon Mokuba, let's make a gigantic one! And maybe when your brother's done with work, he'll help us out! Right!" The cross dresser didn't need an answer since it was practically a hidden demand that the CEO joined them.

Kaiba Seto knew he should, but he should also take his calls first and go through them thoroughly. He had cancelled his meetings and work of the day at the office, yet being the paranoid man he is, even on his off-unspecial-days, he needed to be reassured that his business was going smoothly! Just like jenga game, even the simplest of blows could tear down his hard-earned company!

Although as he talked on the phone, he watched as Joey and Mokuba were having fun together in the sand. The two dug, forged, poured water, and chased each other around throwing sandballs. Seto wanted to be a part of it, but then his trained mind told him to focus on his business. So he got through all the calls, and then saw that about over an hour had passed, and Joey and Mokuba had already built a well-made castle in the sand with a moat.

A group of young girls came over admiring the creation and since Mokuba was the closest, they asked him their cute questions. Joey slid away for the younger Kaiba to be the center of the attention as Joey made a quick dip into the water. Seto decided to get up and follow him in. He might as well get wet in a beach after all these years.

The brunet did not expect anything, but the moment his foot touched the cold water, and his body began to submerge within the salty, mobile, liquid as he entered in deeper, he had an epiphany (a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience- Dictionary. reference. com).

Seto never thought he would ever have any of these since he thought everything was already clear to him, but after discovering that Joey was dating Ryou and the argument he had with Kisandra today, he stared at the back of Joey and realized he was a complete dumbass.

He remembered the dream of Joey dying before him, and he panicked because he knew he would live with regret if his puppy died. He...wanted Joey. He wanted to dance with him, laugh at him, make him angry, maybe even make him cry, but also be kind to him at the right moments, go to the places he hadn't been in like this beach, in this cold water, with each other, and Mokuba when he wanted to come.

He remembered Mokuba's earlier words of him not being there and Kisandra not being what he needed. No, he needed Joey. He needed him to take him away from his cold life, and be forgiven, scolded, or even physically harmed in the blond's arms. It didn't sound healthy, but Seto didn't care.

"Yo, Kaib'." Joey called out to him. "Did you pull a muscle or did your balls freeze and dropped?" He questioned.

Kaiba was then pulled to reality, and then was coming into ultimatums. Should he make a move or not? He would obviously make a move, but then to suddenly do so wasn't tactical. He had to be straightforward but also subtle so having Joey at the palm of his hands would fit right in like a glove.

He was then met with a splash of water that got into his nose! He blew them out, and felt his nostrils become uncomfortable.

Joey laughed at him like a kid. "Ha! Ha! You got water in yer nose! C'mon Moneybags! Is actually being in mother nature's ocean instead of pool cleansed by chloride too much for you?"

Kaiba gave him an unimpressed look, and then an evil look spread across his face. Joey did not like that look. He made a run for it! But Kaiba was blocking the shore, the water was too dense to move through, and he was not an olympic swimmer! He hadn't been able to hit the pools for Jona to teach him!

So the CEO was able to capture Joey and they 'played' in the water together. Mokuba swore that he heard the cries for help from him from Joey, but he ignored it as he was treating the girls to some icecream while getting their phone numbers.

So the day went on with Joey and Kaiba 'playing' in the water, and Mokuba being surrounded by girls and women around or above his age.

Then Joey and Kaiba called it quits in the water when they got tired, and hit to their spot and opened up what the blond made. It appeared to be well-contained seafood. Kaiba did not hesitate to eat the baked oysters with a orange-peach sauch on it. It tasted both sweet and umami at the same time while also fresh. That freshness added with the ocean air and the sound of the waves roaring and the light sounds of people playing around them.

"How is it?" Joey asked casually, though was looking for a good comment or constructive criticism.

Kaiba gave a blunt, "It's good."

That seemed to satisfy Joey, but he teased on, "C'mon moneybags! Say the truth! You think it's delicious!"

"Hn. Fine. It's delicious."

Joey did a mini happy dance from where he sat. Seto rolled his eyes at how ridiculously childish the eighteen-year-old was.

Then the CEO had asked, "Why Ryou?" He drank from his water bottle. "Why are you dating a guy like him?"

Joey was surprised by the question because Kaiba was initiating a casual talk without an insult at him. There wasn't a single trace from the brunet's tone that he wanted a useless argument. So the blond replied, "I already told you. I think I'm in love with him."

"Then you are dating to see if you are in love with him?"

"It's just a whirlwind romance. Once we graduate, and he moves to England and I become famous back here in Domino, it's going to end, and we'll remain friends."

That sounded really good in Seto's ears. It meant he had a chance. "But what if you fall in love with someone else."

Joey looked at the taller teen incredulously. "Who are you and what did you do ta Kaiba? I know Kaiba would never want to talk about feelings! Unless it deals with Mokuba's feelings!"

The CEO let out a single, "Ha." and then continued, "You're right. I'm losing my mind by all the natural sea-water air. Take me back to my mansion where I can breathe only the freshest of air."

The blond covered his mouth which let out a funny-sounding snort and chuckles. His shoulders shook by how hard he was trying to contain his laughter. "You...You're weird, Seto."

"You too, Joey."

It donned on them that they used their first names, but then it felt right and no one complained so they just settled down with it. The blond decided to answer, "What makes you think I would suddenly fall in love with someone else when we're graduating the first week of next month? I'm not interested in anyone, and I'm not shallow like some people who suddenly wants some other guy cuz he's hot or whatnot."

Seto was lying down on his blanket with folded towels used as his pillows. He had a sandwich in hand that he ate. He replied, "I don't know. You attract a lot of_ weird_ attention."

"Don't I know it!" Joey then blinked. "What's dat supposed to mean?"

"Don't you ever use your brain?"

"I use it! It's just more simple if someone explains it to me instead of assuming what they meant! When you say weird, I just think of Pegasus and Weevil!" He gacked at the thought of those two.

"I'm not telling you puppy. You'll have to figure it out for yourself, but I will give you a hint. It's among the guys you've called weird."

That wasn't helping. Joey called alot of guys weird. How could he since he's a weird guy himself, not a bad kind of weird, but just weird in general. The blond was completely lost despite the fact that he just called a certain someone weird. Jona was trying not to be amused for a reason of her own as she watched this fold out.

"Dangit Moneybags! Stop being mysterious and don't call me a puppy! I'm a fully grown man!"

"A full grown man who used puppy dog eyes on me with my brother just to play at the beach." Kaiba put on his bought sunglasses to play it cool as he relaxed.

Joey was beat there. A score for Kaiba. Not that they were really keeping track. "Alright! Enough about my love life. What about yours?"

"Excuse me?"

"Kisandra! She's a wonderful girl! What do you really think about her?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because she's my friend now, and I-"

"And you what?" Kaiba sat up. He did not like where this was going. Did his mutt actually think that he wanted to help their relationship? That did not bode well with the brunet who was planning to have his puppy as a side piece. A very well taken care of side piece.

Joey glared at him as he continued, "And I want to make sure that you guys aren't going to stay just business partners in this marriage."

"This marriage is all about business."

"It doesn't hafta. I get it that you two made it because of business, but you gotta treat a lady right. Y'anno what I mean."

"No. What I wonder is if you know what you mean. I know how to treat a lady unlike a uncivilized street dog like you."

"Hey! I'm not a street dog anymore! That's all behind me now!"

"You'll always be a street dog to me." Kaiba meant that in an endearing way, but then Joey didn't know his epiphany so took it the wrong way.

Joey stood up, and then surprisingly spoke in German to Kaiba. Translating the blond's words, "Whatever! Go ahead and keep seeing me as worthless in your life! I just thought that you and Kisandra could actually become a real couple! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna ask those cute guys to play volleyball!"

Kaiba looked to where the blond pointed to see a bunch of handsome, muscular men playing volleyball. A majority of those men being the guys who was lingering around Joey earlier. Oh hell no!

The CEO snapped in German. Translating: "No! You will not play with them! Isn't their predatory eyes obvious to even a moron like you!"

Joey continued to speak German to him. Translating: "Predatory eyes? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"They want to molest you."

Joey looked at Kaiba in shock. He then glared at him, "That's totally fucked up, Kaiba."

"It's the truth. I always had to be mindful of anyone who was near Mokuba, and had caught on what a predator's eyes were like, and they have them."

That Mokuba part was most likely true, but Joey was not conceded to him. "Hey, I've been approached before and I've been able to protect myself!"

That wasn't positive nor encouraging in the least. That just made Kaiba not want him to go more. "Joey, don't be a moron. And fine, I'm sorry for calling you a street dog when I didn't mean to say it the way you thought I said it."

That surprised the blond, and made him curious. "Then what did you mean?"

Kaiba steeled himself and chose his words carefully to not sound mushy. "I meant that no matter how famous you become, you'll always be that street-dog you were before you become whatever this is."

Joey felt an unusual warmth spreading through his chest that he couldn't stop himself from smiling awkwardly. He decided to tease. "Aw! Moneybags does care!" He got on his knees and hugged the side of the brunet. He then sort of head lock the male much to Seto's chagrin. "And to think that it took almost a year of wearing a skirt to finally hang out with you at my most favorite place to be in the world."

"Whatever." Seto forcefully got the arm off, but that didn't remove the childish grin that the blond sported. But when their eyes met, the blond's grin turned into a soft sheepish smile.

Joey felt like being honest. He reverted back to English (English dub), "I gotta say Seto," He felt a tiny glee of saying his first name. His brown eyes twinkling. "Before this whole skirt fiasco, I honestly never thought we'd be friends going to the beach together. But I gotta say now, I'm glad. You're a pain in the ass, but I'm thankful I ever met you. Even if we met initially at Duelist Kingdom, and you pulled me to the ground and tried to take my confidence away. I'm happy to be here with you."

Kaiba felt a satisfied small smile creep up on his face like a mole checking if Spring was coming. Then they stared at each other for a bit longer until their smiles faded, and they were leaning into each other. Joey was in a trance while Kaiba knew exactly what he was doing. Screw Ryou!

**"STOP!" **Jona cried out with Pyrrhus doing thundering sounds in the background.

Joey threw himself back dramatically as if dodging a meteorite. Jona yelled sense into his ears, **"I told you to get over your doubt! Not your commonsense! You are dating Ryou! Just one day into the relationship, and you're already prepared to kiss another man!"**

_"I-I wasn't going to kiss him!"_

Jona gave him a dubious deadpanned expression with crossed arms. Joey silently whimpered. What the fuck was he doing? He was all about loyalty. He cannot believe he was just about to kiss Kaiba. He knew he wanted to, and he was going to ruin his friendship with Kaiba at the same time. He was horrible.

Though he knew he could repair this and keep this from becoming a soap if he played the clueless card. So he nervously laughed as he sat back up. "Sorry about that! I thought a ball was going to hit me!" He then stuffed his mouth full of a caramel apple.

Seto glowered. Joey was going to kiss him, but then somehow, he was snapped out of it. But then it was obvious that it was his loyalty to Ryou that did it. He admired the blond's sense of loyalty despite the stupidity and weakness that went with it, but at that moment, he wished Joey was weak so they could kiss.

He decided to act like it never happen. He returned back to lying down with his sunglasses still on. "How did you learn to speak German fluently?"

Joey couldn't tell him of how Jona had helped him learn the secrets to how to speak another language easily, and they had both studied and watched German movies and tv shows with or without subtitles to learn. So he gave a short, "Rosetta Stone."

Seto find it doubtful that a program could have taught the blond, but the world is full of surprises so let it be.

Then they were silent since they didn't know of what else to talk about, but that was okay. They were content just being next to each other with good food. Then Mokuba came over to them when he had enough of the females, and became the chatter box between the two older males.

The two listened, questioned, answered, commented and laughed or snorted whenever something funny came up. Mokuba stuffed his face full of Joey's food. Kaiba told him to eat slower or else he'll choke. Joey gave Mokuba some advises about girls while Seto either retorted or supported him. The two older men would argue on a case, but without having to yell at each other too loudly as they were trying to soundly come to a conclusion with their facts and opinions.

"I wish Serenity could be here with us." Joey said more so to himself when the sun was setting. It was the color of reddish orange, the water becoming a darkening navy blue with hues of black and sparkles of light orange flickering above it. The sky was covered with clouds that looked like they were all crowding together to follow the sun to its next destination. The wind was a crisp cool against the uncomfortably sandy and dry blond. The sunset had his golden hair darken and his eyes glimmering with some sort of determination that a hero would have on his adventure when he or she had nothing to do more than to just stare at the sunset.

The Kaiba brothers looked at each other, and said nothing. They both knew the reason why Serenity cannot be with him. However, Seto had seen how badly it had effected his puppy.

The three decided that they should get going now. They took a short shower to get the irritating dried salt left from the sea off their skin. Joey had fresh towels laid out on the car seats, and didn't mind the sand. He was planning to have his car cleaned this weekend.

On the way back, the radio had on some The Fray music and some other relaxing modern music following along. Mokuba had fallen asleep against Seto on the way since it was so serene. Kaiba couldn't remember when he felt so dirty with the sand and remaining dried salt water on his skin, but also very content with it. He was so content with this setting as his heart felt like it was awake with joy.

The feeling felt so alien that his logic told him to rid of it, but he wanted this. He loved this.

Joey dropped them off at their mansion. Seto told him to come in for a moment because he had to return something of his that he left at the charity gala. The blond couldn't remember what that was so came along. The brunet also offered to have his car cleaned while he was here. His cleaners were pretty quick on the job. The honey-eyed duelist hesitated, but then Seto told him that it was to show appreciation for giving Mokuba and him a fun day.

The word fun used in a good sense sounded foreign in the frigid CEO's mouth, yet it wasn't used incorrectly. The brunet first carried a sleeping Mokuba to bed, and tucked him in. He had Joey wait in the living room. He took out the sandal from his closet, and walked downstairs to find the blond sitting down on a single chair in the casual clothes he was wearing before changing to his bathing suit.

Joey was dressed in a brown pleated skirt, a jean shirt, black flats and his hair looked stiff from the salt water still left in his locks. This wasn't exactly the blond's best outfit, but the plan was supposed to spend time with Mokuba in a secluded park.

Seto had changed his clothes from his wet suit to a white dress shirt and a pair of loose black pants since he planned to take a proper shower after this. "Here. You left you shoe on the stairs of the charity gala when you rushed to leave."

"Oh right! I completely forgot about that! But...are you sure that's mine?" Joey knew at least the color of his shoes. "My shoes were red. Not blue."

"Don't be ridiculous. This is your shoe."

"No it isn't. Why would I wear a red dress with blue shoes? I could pull it off, but I didn' t wear any blue jewelry to make the colors compliment instead of clashing."

Kaiba cannot believe he was hearing this. "Don't be a woman now. This is your shoe."

"Hey, men can know their colors! How the hell did Leonardo da Vinci or Vincent van Gogh be able to paint as well without understanding color coordination and maybe shapes! Maybe they were fashion experts, too, and didn't know it huh?!"

"You are being ridiculous. Here. I'll prove it to you." Kaiba got on one knee before Joey, and tried to fit the blue shoe into his foot, but the shoe was too small.

"See, I told you."

"This doesn't make sense. Why in the world would there be another woman's shoe in my closet?"

Joey assumed the answer. "Oh gawd, it's one of your hooker's shoes."

"No." Kaiba sounded insulted that Joey would think he'd bring a hooker in his and Mokuba's shared home. Before he could stop himself, he said out loud to himself, "This must be Kisandra's."

Joey was surprised and then reality ran over him and created a car crash with his fantasy and feelings. Though he wasn't surprised, he felt like he lost. But he still tried to sound like his cheery self. "Wow, you guys don't beat around the bush do you."

_Fuck! Shit! Fuck! Fuckity fuck fuck! Shit! _

Kaiba just blew it. He just blew any chance of Joey ever being comfortable with any intimate relationship with him when a bomb like this set off between them. Kisandra and Joey were friends, and now the blond assumed that they actually have a chance of being together when sex can just be sex! No actual romantic emotions put into it.

His hand gripped the shoes hard, but he remained his stoic self. "Sorry. I'll go get the correct shoe."

Then there was phone ringing. Joey quickly checked his phone. "It's Ryou. I'm gonna take this, alright." He didn't wait for an answer when he pressed the green button.

Kaiba strode away before he could hear the happiness in Joey's voice when he answered. When he was out of hearing range, he threw the shoe through a glass window. The shards of glass falling on the floor, and then nearly break his hand or crack a wall when he furiously punched the surface.

**"You're pathetic."** He heard his own voice say. Kaiba just silently agreed as he tried to consider his chances with Joey now and the tactics to use without ruining anything.

Jona looked up at the ceiling. She swore she felt another presence. A familiar presence, but when that presence disappeared, she decided to ignore it. Joey was in the middle of telling Ryou of how much fun he had at the beach with the Kaiba brothers, and how Seto and him were actually friends, and how that happened.

Since her reincarnation was busy, she decided to check up on how Seto was doing. She noticed his angered expression when he left. She flew over to where he was. The brunet was at his desk on his laptop. There was a small video box on the screen that showed Joey talking on his phone. The CEO would glance at the box every now and then while he checked every aspect of his company carefully.

The male must've wanted time to think his next move while also doing his work to do that.

Jona could see this person as the reincarnation of that sleazy priest. A memory crossed her mind.

_Seth was pharaoh, and he was capable of handling the work, but then he began to slowly be eaten away from the burdens of the pharaoh's duty when a country had several countries go against them. There was no reasoning for peace at all, so they had to look to Egyptian's own allies for support. They were able to get it, and was able to win battles, however they were blindsided, and a village was taken, and the one near it was taken as well._

_Claiming it back was possible, but the lives lost could not be given back. It deeply upsetted Seth who promised to bring Egypt to peace like he had promised Atem._

_He was filled with so much anger, but he kept that bubbled away from anyone including his fiance' Kisara until one day he unleashed it on Jona who was just talking to Hoda. He accused her of acting like a whore. It wasn't his exact words, but it was the insinuation, and forbade her from seeing another man until she got her head focused._

_Insulted, Jona decided to stop attending meetings or meals. This upsetted Seth that he marched into her unguarded room since they were all men. He found her lying down on her bed wth a flower in her hand. She was dating Bakura. The clever thief knew he wasn't allowed to see her, so he had shot an arrow into her room with a flower attached to it._

_She was smiling at that flower before glaring at Seth who glared right back at her. "Explain yourself!"_

_She stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "You forbade me from seeing another man, so...get out." She ordered cooly._

_This had the pharaoh grind his teeth. "I forbade you to not see another man until you regained your sense of focus! Are you so incapable to do so after too many days?!"_

_She now rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic, "Ha." She then hissed her words, "I am focused, but I lose it when I see your pathetic form."_

_"What did you say to me?!" He shouted darkly._

_Jona got out of her bed on the side that separated her from him. She looked at the man with disdain. "You heard what I said. I will not respect you if you dare to disrespect me!"_

_"Respect?! I am the pharaoh! I-"_

_"So what?! Am I supposed to respect you because of your title instead of what you make of that title! If that is it, then you should change your title from pharaoh to that of dictator!" She approached him without fear unlike anyone else would. Nor did she approach with the intent to murder or cockiness. She approached with firm reason. "I have done nothing but protect and guide Egypt with you faithfully, and yet the moment your contained anger cannot be held, you disrespect ME! Do you really think that I would shrug it off as one of your episodes! No! You are pharaoh!" __She painfully poked the taller man's shoulder for every "you" or "your" she spouted. "__You are not allowed to have those episodes! You cannot abuse your power for whatever reason you have!"_

_"You have no idea what it's like to be a pharaoh!"_

_She slapped him hard that he fell to the ground. She grabbed his by his collar to pull him back to his legs. "Don't give me that bullshit!" She threw him against a wall that kept him up. "You don't know how to remain human! When was the last time you cried?!"_

_"I don't have time to cry! I have to remain strong for my people!"_

_"Gawd, you're a prodigy, but you're stupid as a dumb beetle." She sighed as she shook her head. "Don't make your people an excuse for you to not cry. They have no idea what happens in here, and even if they are within the walls, there are so many rooms where you can escape to cry."_

_"Crying is weakness."_

_"It's love and release." Jona closed their space so their eyes met. her amber eyes filled with an unwavering fire. "I cried after every battle, every war I've been in. I let myself cry because I did not want to be like my fellow soldiers who hold in their tears and let it destroy their humanity. Some of them do not cry because those men died with honor-"_

_"Those people weren't soldiers."_

_She held his cheeks gently as if he was glass. "All the more justifiable to cry. Your people were slaughtered, and you didn't have the awareness nor power to save them." The great pharaoh looked down to the side in shame. She held his hands. "Let their spirits know your sorrow and regret."_

_Seth rose up his head. His eyes were glistening wet and he breathed in hard. He was in between crying or not. "What if I don't stop? What if I can't stop?"_

_She gave a small smile. "Don't be irrational, Seth. It's not like you. But I will tell you this, crying won't make everything better, but it makes things the tiny bit less worse." She nearly choked the last word._

_"Jona?"_

_She sniffed. "Sorry. I cried when I was told of what happened to the villages. I cried for so many nights and I can see that I'm still not done." Tears fell down her face. She wiped each and everyone of them with the back of her hand as she looked to the side. She had her own pride to protect._

_Seth was surprised, and he just had to hold her in his arms. His own tears falling down on the floor while Jona's tears soaked his chest._

_The pharaoh had no idea Jona had a weak side to her, and yet she remained to look strong and whole in front of her peers. "I had no idea you could cry." he told her. "You looked like the type who was able to get over pain and mistakes with determination."_

_Jona gave a half-hearted chuckle. "You make me sound heartless."_

_"I'm sorry. I meant that you were so strong and rational at those times that I was envious."_

_"A good cry helps clear the mind." She told him. She stepped back from his arms to tell him without unwavering, passionate, soulful eyes, "So cry my pharaoh until you are burning inside so passionately with grief, sorrow, and anguish in your heart that you just turn into ashes, and then you'll see that you'll rise like a pheonix." She gave him a kiss on the lips. _

_The kiss only meaning to be a sign for peace. Seth was aware of this and smiled, but then covered his mouth when he remembered why his people did not kiss Greeks._

_Apparently in the genesis, it stated that Egyptians would not kiss Greeks, use their knife, his spit, his cauldron, or flesh cut from a Greek knife, because they ate their sacred animal: cows (biblehub. com, 43:32; thedailybeast. com)_

_Jona just silently laughed at him, and they cried together._

The ancient spirit fondly smiled at the memory. Then he heard Seto speak to himself. "How can I make my puppy mine? He won't be with Ryou long, but as long as I'm engaged to Kisandra...I cannot break off the engagement over this..." The male looked longingly at the small video screen.

Joey was laughing into his phone which irked him! If it was Yugi, he would just be slightly jealous, but fucking no! It's Ryou! Why couldn't he disappear like his psychotic self! Seto could make it happen easily, but that was being irrational!

Then he witnessed his puppy putting back his phone. Seto sighed since he hadn't forged a plan yet, so just got out, took the correct shoe out of his closet, and then headed back to the living room.

Joey smiled at him. The reason of happiness behind that smile made it irritatingly painful for the CEO to look at. "Here." He shoved it into his hands.

"Hey. Okay. What happened to you? You're acting like Mr. Grumpypants all over again."

"None of your business mutt, now get out of my house."

"Hey, I don't know what your problem is, but don't take it out on me!"

"I'll do as I please."

"And doing as you please can earn you a knucklesandwich!"

"And that'll earn you a restraining order and a law suit. Don't make this difficult for yourself, and get out, or does the little puppy forgot where the front door is?"

Joey cannot believe Seto's attitude. They were having such a great time together! But all the sudden he's being an asshole. He didn't get it...The blond remembered Jona's words, and he had to stop stopping himself from making sense of things and expect someone else to explain the situation.

So...maybe Seto's not mad at him. Joey was for sure he did nothing wrong or said anything wrong which irritated him that the brunet would verbally abuse him like this. And his attitude was inexcusable even if something upset him. Mokuba's safe in his room, so there really was no reason for him to act like this to him. Maybe it had something to do with work. It's always work. Seto's all about work.

But then Joey reasoned with himself despite how irritated he was that getting angry and then storming out wasn't the best thing to do if he didn't want to go back to school, and be ignored or not talked to, or maybe even be the target for all that stress.

He took a deep breath. "You know something, Seto. Whatever is bugging you, can you please make me a target for this bullshit? We're not teenagers anymore, and we're graduating, and I'm going to face a lot more bullshit from people, and I don't want to face yours anymore. If you expect me to be that kind of friend, then you might as well being lumping me with all those other friends of yours you pay. Ignore you at school later." Joey said the last words bitterly, and then made his way out.

Seto was stunned that once again, it was Joey who ended up being the mature one in the situation, and he was right. Though the brunet childishly reasoned that that was there 'thing' between, but then he knew better that they were growing up, and things weren't the same anymore.

Joey didn't deserve to be verbally abused anymore. He wanted to chase after him, but his legs froze. Yet, he knew he'd live with regret, and he wasn't that type of man. He broke the imaginary ice, and raced out his mansion to see Joey was about to get in the driver seat. "Joey wait!" He ordered!

Joey stopped, and walked around his car to see Kaiba at the top of the porch stairs. They were able to see each other by the mansion's outside lights. The sky was a black blanket of nothingness.

Kaiba stepped down the few steps to be in front of him. He apologized, "You are right. I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

Joey crossed his arms as he eyed the male to make sure he wasn't tricked. "It must've not been easy fer ya to admit that huh."

"Nonsense. If we were the way we were last school year, then this would've been beneath me on so many levels. But now it's different. You're not my equal, Joey, but you are a special case."

Joey felt like he was told he was 'special' like a kid who needed extra help for school. But then he focused on the positive which got Kaiba a smile for him. "Aw, ya called me special. And next time, Seto, be real wit' me or clam it up." He lectured him and then gave a nice, "Goodnight Moneybags."

Kaiba snorted. "Goodnight puppy." The brunet smiled at the blond. Joey felt his heart skip a beat and he fell into a trance.

The two stood there for several minutes before Joey had to step backwards to get to the driver seat. He looked away and didn't let himself look back for fear of what he'll come to if he did.

._._._.

A/N: Seto's not acting OOC for apologizing to Joey first. It's more of a competitive and logical matter for Seto to apologize since Joey's always the first to apologize which makes the blond seemed to be the mature one out of them which is incorrect in Seto's logic of how a conversation to go. Of course, he's too proud to apologize, but due to Joey being more man enough to apologize first, Seto wants to turn that around for the sake of his pride.

And yes, Seto's in love with Joey. FINALLY!

But then Joey knows he slept with Kisandra. NO!

A friend does not date a friend's fiance' even if it was arranged. It's not betrayal, but it technically is when you not only have a sexual affair, but start having an emotional affair, because an emotional affair will tip the scales of who the friend's fiance' may favor more, and it causes a power struggle for the three of them. And the fact that the engaged couple have sex, it may be seen as a love struggle, too.

And Joey doesn't want to have drama. Especially when it can end with hurting a friend. Joey cherishes friends since his family abandons him. He's starved for love and care. To lose a friend, it's like severing a piece of his flesh that will leave an ugly scar. Losing friends is never an option for Joey, unless that friend ended up using and manipulating him.

Hope you enjoyed this one!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Noe/Noah is coming back! And the real trouble is brewing up!

._._._.

The first two weeks of May went by with ease. Joey was going on dates with Ryou, and also teaching Mokuba how to fight while helping out with a charity campaign. Seto went on with Kaiba corp. and was helping Joey out with his charity campaigns on the background while also going on at least two dates with Kisandra for publicity. He was to announce at a conference that he was dating her while Kisandra was to do hers later when she was to return back to France.

The media already donned them as a couple, and they were considered to be a fairytale couple since they were practically royal. The blue-eyed duelist rolled his eyes at the description. He was certainly no prince charming.

But someone else had no problem with being a princess.

"What about this dress?" Kiyoko asked. Joey was attending a royals day at a park where unfortunate kids can spend the day feeling like a princess or a prince with booths for food and games. He happened to be attending it with Kisandra who helped arranged it, and already had her dress ready.

Right now the cross dresser was on a platform in a princess ball gown that made him feel like he was a balloon animal shaped like a bear covered in glitter.

Jona was amused. When she was princess, her dresses were simple and comfortable. However, these days, the dresses were meant to be big, sparkly and pretty!

The male duelist wanted red and black, but they were common colors for evil. He had to wear brighter colors like pink, yellow, light blue and so on. Kiyoko had ordered several dresses from several stylist who was willing to donate a dress to Joey for the charity.

Kiyoko expected Joey to pick a dress, but then he wasn't sure of which to pick because they were all so...girly. Yes, he had been dressing up like a girl, but not in a girly girl fashion. He kept his look cool, chic, down-to-earth, or relatively cute. And not all out girly where he wore his hair in pig tails and wore an overly cute short dress with pumps and jewelry on.

He looked at his agent with pleading eyes. "C'mon Kiyoko, why do I have to wear these kinds of dresses?!" He whined, and then cried out for justice, "What happened to feminism?! Even real princesses don't want to wear big, poofy, sparkly this!" He thought that if he stepped outside, he'd blind himself with all the sparkles and fly away like Dorothy!

"Stop complaining!" His agent snapped harshly. "The kids wants to see you dressed as a beautiful sparkling princess so you will dress as so! Now pick your dress!"

Joey grimaced at her. He would rather be in a fight with a bunch of nobodies than do this! He didn't like any of the dresses. They were beautiful, but he wasn't feeling it for any of them.

Jona suggested, **"Maybe with the power of Pyrrhus and I, I could do some alterations if I possess your body. But I do not know the true limit of my power if I were to take over your body."**

_"I don't think Kiyoko would appreciate that, and designers worked hard to make these dresses. But dammit, I don't like any of them!"_

**"Then why can we not create our own dress."**

_"Uhm...do you know how to sew?"_

Jona snorted, **"Heavens no. I am not a jack-of-all-trades. All my clothes were either bought, or Pyrrhus shaped a part of him into it."** She sighed dreamily. **"Princesses surely changed over the years. The view of them at least. In the past, many of us were expected to just bear children, or become a trinket of peace, and have limited power or no power at all in politics. Here, they represent beauty, poise, civility, morality, and so much more. It's also considered a title of laziness depending on one's perspective, yet at least they aren't forced to bear children, and have no control of whether you or that child lives or dies under the tyrant rule of a king or step-mother who took the position of queen."**

"Joseph." Kiyoko said impatiently.

Joey looked at the dresses again, and his gut wasn't pulling at any of them. Instead it was shrinking back into a pit. He hastily replied, "Can I make my own dress?"

"Excuse me?"

"Make my own dress." Joey said the words without thinking. "Royals day isn't until four days away! I can do it!" He lied and was desperate to get away from these dresses.

Kiyoko looked at him incredulously, and then sighed. "Fine." She almost growled. "But you will have to show me the dress, and if I do not find it presentable, then you'll be forced to pick from this selection! Clear?"

"Yes! Thanks Kiyoko!" Joey hugged her. He felt grateful for the chance, but then he immediately felt queasy because he couldn't make a dress! Jona wasn't sure if she could! But he had four days!

When he got home, Jona possessed him and tried to use her magic, but she was unable to do any spells. She could only morph Joey's body. "This is bad." She spoke through his body.

_"Augh!"_ Joey rolled and scratched at his head in the air._ "Why didn't I just pick a dress by random?! Why am I even making a damn issue about this like a damn girl?!"_

"Because you prefer to dress with clothes that represents you and makes you feel comfortable, instead of a dress that makes you feel tacky and not yourself." Jona replied matter-of-factly.

_"I never had this problem as a guy!"_

"On the contrary, you hate wearing a suit because you despise neckties since you weren't a suit type of guy. Compared to this matter, you hate these dresses because they sparkle. If they didn't, you would've tolerated them."

Joey crossed his arms and legs._ "So what are we going to do?! We can't make a dress!"_

"Unless you are able to tap into your red eyes card, we could."

_"But I'll have to have my duel disk turned on, and Kiyoko won't let me wear it!"_

"Yes, but unless we have Seto create-"

At Kaiba corp. office.

"A wrist band that'll activate a card without the need to be in a duel." Seto said the words. He had his head turned away from the window that he was previously looking out of.

Joey was sitting on a chair in front of his desk. Kaiba had noticed that the blond was wearing cutoff jeans, sneakers, a brown belt, and a cute, sleeveless, blue floral top. He also had a pair of sunglasses on his head. The CEO knew he should be used to this by now, but it's freaking him out more that Joey just gets more cuter instead of suddenly becoming more masculine to the point that this cross dressing had to stop.

But no. He fits those clothes so damn well, and looked so innocent, that when he first entered during his lunch break, Seto wanted to approach him, kiss him, have Joey jump up and wrap his legs and arms around him, and then do not so innocent things on his desk. The lighting outside his window was also perfect to give the whole deflowering of an angel effect.

Thus, the reason he was staring out of the window dramatically. One would think he was thinking of a great tragedy, but no, he was mourning the loss of such a wonderful setting not being used to do dirty things to a virgin.

In Joey's mind, he knew he was sounding crazy, but he needed a dress that he wanted. He could buy it, but then he told Kiyoko he would make it, and he was a man of his word.

The honey-eyed duelist added, "And in three days." Yeah, he was asking for too much, so he decided to make a polite bolt for it. He stood up and apologized, "I know I'm asking for too much, and you're already busy, so I'll be making my way out."

"Stop." Seto ordered. Joey froze on his feet. The brunet thought about how cute his puppy was when he feels apprehension. He said, "We already have what you are asking for on the works." He got on his laptop where he had his windows from behind be covered and then a white screen came out from the ceiling. A projector, that Joey hadn't noticed was above him, was turned on to reveal an eletronic wrist band with details.

The prodigy in his business mode explained, "Kaiba corporation planned to sell wristbands that'll allow children to scan duel monsters cards and then create a holographic projection of these duel monsters for them with added personality traits, so they could interact. However, there are still kinks in the system to perfect this, and I apologize, but it will take more than two days to fix this."

Jona took over, "May I see a prototype?'

Kaiba hesitated to answer because he was aware of the slight change, but then ignored the hostility he felt about it. He reasonably replied, "Why not. I will have one of my people bring it up." He picked up his phone to give the order, hung up, and then asked, "I must say I'm curious. Why, you of all people, Wheeler, do you want this type of device for?"

_"So I could tap into my ancient sacred connection with Red Eyes just to create a dress."_ Joey snorted._ "And what do you me 'you of all people'?! You're lucky I'm out here instead of my own body, asshole!"_

Jona mirthly smirked, and then reasonably replied, "I thought it'd be fun to give the kids at the fair on Royals day a show of red eyes in the sky."

Kaiba rose an eyebrow to this. He thought about it for a split second. It was an intriguing and creative idea that Joey would have, but then the person before him right now didn't feel like Joey. He remained on business mode due to this. "If Kaiba corporation miraculously has this device fixed and ready in less than three days, then I will allow it, but as you will see," there was a buzz that the device had arrived. Seto allowed the deliverer in, and the device was placed on Joey's hands.

Jona inspected it. She kept her head down as her eyes slightly reddened to scan it. Her magical red eyes had the power to scan modern technology, and with the connection to the duel monsters in different universes, it helped her create a plan to have the device connect to their souls and be transported. Joey's red eyes was a part of his soul, though mostly laying dormant. This device, when fixed, will awaken the creature within.

Seto continued, "As I was saying, as you can see now, it is not close to functioning. We had already added the appropriate characteristics to the duel monsters, yet the wrist bands is still having some problems."

"It's your equations that's the problem." Jona told him. Kaiba was surprised to be answered with that kind of answer. The ancient spirit didn't hesitate to give him intellectual words that an expert inventor would say. Joey tried to stop her, but she continued on as if she was heading to success like an enlightened mad scientist.

Kaiba was stunned by this, but what the male said before him made sense. He immediately asked when the monkey duelist was done speaking, "I had no idea you were an expert in technology, Wheeler. Are you truly Joey Wheele or an imposterr?"

Jona quickly explained, "No. I have a friend who dabbled in these sort of gizmos. I remembered what she told me, and maybe you can make sense of this."

"Is that so..." Kaiba thought that that made sense, but then he knew it must be a lie. But then there was no way of explaining this situation. He just had to let it go, or it could have drove him mad. "Kaiba corporation can easily make those corrections within a day or two, and if you are correct, then I guess you will be the very first person to be allowed to display the technology at the Royals day fair, but you must give credit to our company."

Jona gave him a happy smile, but that smile irked the brunet that he instinctively glared at her. The ancient female spirit just felt evil glee at his baffled irritation.

She made the switch while Seto watched which had the young man's eyes widened at how Joey's eyes now glimmered the way it had before as if shapeshifting back to normal. There was that inward sigh of relief again to see that his puppy returned to him while his logic screamed at him that he was there the whole time.

"Uh, thanks Seto!" The CEO's only friend said with his normal cheerful voice, and bright smile. Joey placed the prototype carefully on his desk. "Call me when it's done! See ya later!"

When Joey made his way out, Seto wanted to follow him. Question him of why he's making his mind go mad when it thinks that he disappears on him when he's clearly there in front of him. But then that would be illogical to ask. He would simply look at the blond's current hospital records. If he finds nothing and feels like his brain was about to go to war, then he may persuade Joey to take a brain scan to discover anything off. If that doesn't work, then he'll finally ask the question. But if Joey didn't know, then he'll admit to himself that he's officially mad.

._._._.

With the princess dress problem on the road to being fixed, Joey found himself with free time since Kiyoko gave him the days off, so wondered if his boyfriend or any of his friends were free for the day.

"Jojo?" Only one person would call him that in the Kaiba corp. building. Joey gave that person a friendly familiar smile. That person grinned when she was correct. "Jojo! I'm so glad to see you! Kiyoko told me that you were free for the day if you weren't working on your princess dress. I had no idea you could design a dress."

Joey gave a smile of guilt which was mistaken for a modest smile. "Oh no, I don't know how to make a dress. My grandma does, and she already made one and will send it within the week. Just don't tell Kiyoko. I don't want my grandma in the middle of this."

Kisandra could detect a lie, but then it wasn't her business to delve into. "So you sneaked in a couple of free days, did you." She gave him a devious smirk.

Joey just realized he did. "No! I mean, yeah I guess."

"Then you're free, or did you make plans, because I would love to have you be my tour guide around this city, and I only have today to do it. Do you mind? You must be the type to know the real better places around this city."

Joey's eyes lit up! Nothing surgared him up more than showing someone his knowledge and roots! "Hell yeah, I do! Let's go!" He grabbed his hand and had them rush out of the building.

Joey drove Kisandra to where he knew had the best food, the best spots to hang out with friends, the best free sights around the city, the history behind buildings, grafitti, the story of people in the past, the shortcuts, the dangerous routes and the safe routes, and even the history of the roads, an abandoned building, and so much more. The blond saw the changes happened before his eyes as a kid who wondered around the city more than any of his friends since he was so dirt poor that entertainment was outside for him. He knew which streets were darker at night, where the best corners for prostitutes to work at, and the signs of danger.

Kisandra just watched him with an engrossed expression because Joey spoke like a hyperactive old man filled with wisdom and tales. It felt like hours went by which it did, but it was only almost four in the afternoon at the latest.

"And that's all I know about Domino." Joey concluded. The two of them were walking along the nicer side of Domino where there were several stores and shops around. They had milkshakes in hand which Kisandra can't believe taste better and was less expensive than the ones she would get at the richest part of the city.

Joey decided to simply chat, so curiously asked, "So how did your dates really went down with Seto? I can hardly imagine him bein' romantic."

Kisandra gave him a thin frown. "He's...interesting in the least. I decided that we were not allowed to talk about business like usual, so we talked about duel monsters. I did challenge him, and he found me to be better than you at least, but not a true worthy opponent."

"Oh hell naw! He said that!" Joey was insulted that Kaiba used him as a means of comparison! He didn't mind that Kisandra may be better than him. He may be ranked as the third best, but he understood that it was more for his raw talent (luck) than winning streak. The title was a complisult to him, but better than nothing.

"I'm afraid yes." Kisandra gave him a teasing smile.

Joey pouted cutely with his arms crossed. "Screw that guy."

"Oh, I will." Kisandra smirked. Joey's eyes widened at her. She inwardly giggled, and then teased, "Seto Kaiba is the most unromantic man in the world, but he sure knows how to treat a woman in bed."

Joey blanched. "EW! Ew! Ew! EW! I did not need to hear that!"

"But it's true! He refuses to take off his shirt, but that's alright because-"

"No! Shut up! Shut up! I do not want to hear this! What's wrong with you rich-ass CEOs wanting to tell me about your sex life! Yuck! Now excuse me as I try to bleach my mind by giving myself brain freezes!" Joey sipped his cold milkshake hard to remove the images.

Kisandra giggled, and then showed mercy. She asked, "So what about you and Ryou? How are your whirlwind romance?"

"Uhm..." Joey's cheeks turned a tint of pink. "Let's just say he makes every day count when we have time , Ryou has a big art project, so he's busy painting something big. I don't know what it is, and he won't show me until it's finish. But our art teacher told me that it will be displayed by next week during an art gallery in our school's gym."

"I will love to see it's opening display. Will the school allow non-students to participate?"

"Sure! You're our age anyway, so even if they don't, you'll easily slide in with me and the gang."

"Magnificent! So what does Ryou do to make every day count when you two can date?"

Joey's cheeks turned pinker that he's almost flushed by embarrassment. "Well on each of our dates, he buys me flowers, and either my favorite snack, sushi or sweets. I tell him that he doesn't really need to buy me these things, but he told mah dat he wants to shower me with love since he wants to be my first best boyfriend, and even if mah next boyfriend breaks my heart, I should remember that I am a diamond in a rough, or all dat nonsense a guy should be tellin' a gurl."

"It does fascinate me of how men express love for each other unlike females."

"Yeah, b't I don't mind it. Ryou is being Ryou and dat makes mah happy. We had a candlelit dinner; we took a long walk togedder at de beach; we snuggled at his place while watchin' Forrest Gump; we swing danced at this club filled with lovable oldies, and gawd, it was so much fun! Wow, when I say it, I sound like I've been living in a romantic movie."

"It definitely sounds dreamy to me." There was the hint of a wistful jealousy in her tone, but nothing Joey noted on. "And you're definitely a diamond in the rough, Jojo. You are such a good, strong, and confident person. You make me fall in love when I'm with you. I must say that this day was far more lovely than a date with Mr. Kaiba. You were not joking at all that this would be challenging. But I do love a good challenge."

"Well, don't stop fighting for it." Joey took her hand in a supportive matter. "And I'm not that confident. I just accept that I'll always be runner up, and if I'm finally in the lime-light, I'll live it up, but don't let it get to my head. You should definitely know. You're beautiful, better than any CEO I ever met, and intelligent and damn girl, you're the whole package!"

Kisandra giggled and tightened her hold around Joey's hand, "We're both the whole package, Jojo. If you were actually a girl, I'd love to adopt you as my sister, and take you away with me to France!"

"I don't know about that France part, but you're kinda like a sistah to me, too. You're the type of woman that I would love to have Serenity grow up to be, but without having to be engaged to Kaiba. I want her to marry that right person for love, not business. Not that that makes you a bad person or anything."

"I understand Jojo, and I would love to meet Serenity. I feel that we would've gone along just swell."

"Me too."

And then there was a sudden buzz from Joey's phone. The blond checked it. "Oh right! I have to video chat later!" He explained to Kisandra, "Kids from around the world who has to get surgery messages me for support like the way I supported my sister Serenity when she had to get her eye surgery. I figured that I could do the same for them by sending a video or have a video chat if I can because some kids around the world don't have the best laptops to do a video chat. Do you want to be a part of this one?"

"I'd love to!" The two found a shady and comfortable place to sit without too much noise to bother the chat on the background. They got connected, and met an energetic boy whose afraid to go through a heart transplant. Joey naturally gave him encouraging words, and Kisandra reassured him that perhaps she could help him and his family through this hard time by providing the essentials they need.

That encouraged the kid to go through with it, and thanked them. They thanked him back for being brave.

After the video, Joey then got a call from Ryou about meeting up for a romantic date by watching a local comedy play.

Kisandra knew that was her cue to leave. "So I supposed that we have to separate now. It's sad, but I had a wonderous time with you, Jojo."

Joey smiled a lovely smile. "Me too, Kiki. Sorry to have to cut our time short togetha. Want me to drop you off at your place?"

"Oh no, I'll have my driver pick me up since I have my own scheduled plans as well. Thank you for spending time with me." She gave him a friendly kiss on both his cheeks.

"Me too. See ya!" Joey waved as he ran over to where he parked his car.

Kisandra watched him go. Jona stayed behind to look at the woman. The ancient spirit saw Kisara, but then after watching this woman with her reincarnation, this woman was different. Kisandra remained beautiful, and strong with a presence of kind yet disciplined goodness. However this one was far more smarter and less delicate than Kisara. Jona wondered of how Kisandra will play a part within her Joey's future.

._._._.

At night, Kisandra and Kaiba were in the limo together. They had a dinner reservation and knew how they should act for the camera and the audience around them.

Kisandra began the conversation, "I spent the day with Jojo, today."

Kaiba inwardly growled of her affection use of the nickname "Jojo" instead of "Joey". He coarsely spoke, "Is that so."

The woman merely smiled. "He's an angel. It makes me interested to know of what he's hiding behind that smile of his."

The man looked at her from the corner of his eye. There previous conversations had been...mundane in Seto's critical opinion, yet now, he was quickly finding it to become one infuriating discussion. "Why would anything of the puppy's secrets interest you? Don't tell me that you're the type that would love to use the weaknesses of your friends to abolish their careers."

Kisandra was off put by his attitude, but remained calm. "Don't think terrible of me. I'm just merely curious. Joey lived with an abusive father, and told me that he would spend most of his days outside. He lived in the most dangerous part of Domino city. I doubt he did it mostly by choice which must be why he joined the gang."

"I'm not listening to any of this."

"Aren't you curious, too?" She pressed.

Kaiba remained stubborn. "Whatever happened in Joey's past is his business and his business alone."

By that tone, she assumed, "So you don't care."

Kaiba could believe that she would say that, but he was still appalled that her, an outsider, would accuse him of that. He was extra appalled by the added fact that he loved Joey. "It's not that I don't care. It's simply rude to pry into another man's life."

"I'm not prying, Mr. Kaiba." The female CEO spoke sternly. "I was only telling you that I was curious, and wondered if you were, too. I was not trying to make gossip, but simply understand who Joey is. I hardly know him after all."

"That's correct. You do hardly know him at all, so don't speak as if you do."

Kisandra looked at him and then faced forward, "Is this how we are to spend the days and nights of our married life."

"It's not a genuine marriage." Kaiba pointed out.

"It's a marriage nonetheless, and I would like to be treated with respect. You speak to me as if I am just another mere woman in your eyes, but I am not. However, I know you will not care even if I explain of who I am, so I will be brief with you. If you are in love with Jojo, then say so."

Kaiba was shocked silent. He had no idea he was being obvious that someone such as Kisandra would know. Yet, he quickly calmed down, and snorted, "What are you talking about? Me like that dog? We may be friends, but even I have taste."

"Then you must have very bad taste buds if you do not think an angel cake like Jojo doesn't suit your taste." Kisandra wouldn't mind too much if Kaiba was in love with Joey, but then despite the male CEO's coldness, she wanted a chance to get under his glacier surface too.

"Stop calling him, Jojo." Kaiba changed the subject.

The woman quipped, "Stop disrespecting us first." The two glared at each other. Kaiba then grunted. He looked out of the limousine's window with his arms crossed. Kisandra rolled her eyes at his attitude as she crossed her arms. Both CEOs weren't going to give in from their anger.

However, Kaiba knew better. This sort of chemistry will not bode well with their business if they wished to combine. He still wanted to keep his pride, but then reasoned that apologizing wasn't a sign of weakness. He could carry out that apology proudly for the sake of his company.

He uncrossed his arms, sighed, and then faced the woman. "I apologize for my behavior. It doesn't mean I entirely agree with you or your attitude, but let's not hold stupid grudges over this."

Kisandra uncrossed her arms. She felt cheated by the apology because she felt like the immature one even if the apology was an arrogant one. "You are right." She kept her dignity as a lady. "I apologize for my behavior as well, and speaking out of turn."

"Apology accepted."

There was silence for a few seconds before Kisandra grabbed Kaiba's hand. The brunet looked at the platinum blond with a slight baffled expression. Yet, he allowed it since it didn't feel wrong. Kisandra smiled by this. It was the first time she felt like she was a step closer to true intimacy.

._._._.

At school, Joey talked to Kaiba. When they talked during school without volatile arguing, it practically made history in Domino high.

It happened during trigonometry class when the two had to be teamed up to solve math problems. Everyone thought that the teacher was insane for pairing the two up since they knew the two was bound to ruin the boring peace of the class with their bickering, and then be sent to the detention. The Kaiba and Wheeler fanclub members tried to go against this.

The teacher rose an uninterested eyebrow at this with a look as if thinking that they were all being ridiculous. He looked to the pair of boys. "Mr. Wheeler, do you mind being partnered with Mr. Kaiba?"

Joey shrugged. "I'm cool." He spoke with his female voice. Jaws dropped. Duke rose a very high inquisitive eyebrow.

The teacher looked at the blue-eyed student. "Mr. Kaiba, any objections?"

"None."

Students' reality cracked.

"Then that's the end of the discussion. Now everyone sit with your assigned partner, and finish the problems on the board together." The teacher sat down at his desk.

Joey moved over to Kaiba's spot with a chair. The genius obviously had the questions done in a flash. The brunet offered for him to simply copy, but then the blond wanted to conquer these problems to make Mokuba proud. That made Seto snort and then gave a small smile.

They had about more than half an hour to finish the questions. Joey used up about fifteen minutes to answer them all, and then looked over Kaiba's answers to see if he got anything wrong. He got two problems wrong, and then tried to figure out the correct steps to take.

Kaiba in the mean time was looking through proposals. He would glance once every two or three minutes. There was no sudden changes of personality which eases the brunet, and lets him enjoy the sight of Joey working with a funny, concentrated expression.

When Joey was done, and the both of them had free time, Seto thought that he should tell the male, "The wristbands are operable. You may come with me to Kaiba corporation to test them."

"Uh, sorry." Joey apologized with a teethy frown. "I already have plans with the gang to go to Burger world."

"Ditch them." The almighty CEO ordered.

Joey breathed out a dubious laugh. "Nooo!" He shook his head. "I'm not gonna ditch my friends to get a wristband!"

"A wristband where if you swipe your card into it, you can have a fully functional hologram of the red eyes black dragon that you will present at royals day which is on the day after tomorrow."

"Then you can just send me it at my place today, or I'll get it tomorrow."

"No, I want you to come today."

"I cannot come today." Joey stressed each word through his teeth.

"Fine, you can't have it."

Joey blanched at him. "You cannot be serious right now! Why do you desperately want me to come today when I have plans?!"

Kaiba smirked, "I simply want you to."

The blond stared at him dumbfounded. This bitch. This bitch was asking to be bitch slapped. Joey narrowed his eyes at the male. "You fucker."

Kaiba let out a howl of laughter which terrified the other students since they had never heard Seto laugh before! Everyone worried if an earthquake was going to destroy Domino!

Joey smacked the brunet lightly on the arm as he glared at him. He stood up from his seat to shout at him, "Stop being an asshole!" He shouted with a waving fist in the air! "I have plans, so send me it or I'll get it later! And stop laughing at me! It's not even funny!"

Kaiba calmed down his laughter to a satisfied smirk. "You're always funny, mutt. Especially with your monkey looks." That comment earned him a kick to his seat's leg which had the brunet clash to the floor.

The teacher gave a simple, "Now, now, boys. Quiet down."

Joey grinned down at Kaiba who was lying on his tummy. "Not so funny now, huh, moneybags."

Seto glared up at him, and then grinned evilly. "I can see your panties."

The blond immediately pushes his skirt back to cover the view. His face going bright red, and screamed, "Pervert!"

"Hmph. You're the one who pushed me down. It's your fault that you left them exposed like that." Seto got up, and correct his chair before he took a seat.

Joey sat back down on his seat. He grumbled, "Jerk."

"Nimrod."

"Jackass."

"Idiot."

"Brainiac."

"Mutt."

"Pale-ass."

"Second-rate."

"Dragon fucker."

"Virgin."

"Slut."

"Excuse me?" Seto cannot believe he's just been called a slut.

"You heard me." Joey stood his ground. "You call me virgin. I get to call you a slut."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Are you coming with me after school or not?"

Joey knew that getting a wristband couldn't take more than about an hour since it takes more than ten minutes to reach Kaiba corp, and get to Burger World. "Fine. But just to get the wristband. I gotta get to my friends."

Seto smirked in victory. They didn't have to fight the way they did, but it was thrill to have seen the mutt blush the way he did. "Deal."

"What time is it?" Joey looked at the round clock. "Still over ten minutes. So...how do you like Kiki so far?"

"Who?" Seto was literally clueless with the name.

"Kisandra!" Joey clarified. "The media got you two holding hands. That's pretty fast for an iceblock like you. When can we expect a public kiss?"

Seto frowned. He didn't blame Joey for asking that question, but he wasn't amused of being lumped with someone who is still a stranger to both of them. "Please, Wheeler, Kisandra and I will never be like that."

Joey gave him a knowing smile. He knew that Seto and Kisandra were meant to be like Seth and Kisara were. "It's still too early to make that assumption, Seto. I bet that you two will fall in love, or you already are, and you don't know it."

Seto swallowed his spit, and silently let out an aggravated breath. "I doubt that."

"Why? Kisara is the whole package. She's beautiful, kind, smart- you and Mokuba went through that process of finding out who you want out of everyone, so it's no coincidence that she's in the list. Don't you remember two years ago when we went on that crazy trip to Egypt? You might still think it's not real, Seto, but I do, so I'm sure that it's definitely not coincidence that you met the same girl who was with your incarnation. You two are soul mates."

"Enough." Kaiba thought Joey was deluded by whatever happened two years ago to make such a presumption that he was meant for Kisandra and not him!

"Okay. I know you think I'm being crazy, but take my word for it, Seto. You and Kisandra are meant to be together." The blond placed his hand on the brunet's.

Seto took his hand away and then the bell rang. "I'll see you after school." He quickly walked away.

The CEO strode along the hallway with grace, yet it felt heavy to carry the stance when it felt like his ankles were cuffed to chained balls.

._._._.

"No way! You two are friends!" Tristan shouted during lunch. The gang was at the rooftop. "You and Kaiba? You and Kaiba are friends? Oh my gawd, it's the end of the world!"

Duke rolled his eyes at his fiance's reaction when he told them about what happened in class, and Joey confessed that they've been friends. "For how long had you two been friends?"

"Uhm...since October."

"October!" Tristan got a smack to the head by Duke.

Tea congratulated him, "Oh wow, seven months of being friends, and we had no clue."

"I kind of knew." Yugi said. He explained to Joey, "You did seemed more conscious of Kaiba's well being after Halloween."

"I noticed, too." Ryou said with a small smile. Then changed the subject, "So are we still set for Burger World?"

"Uh, yeah, but I gotta head to Kaiba corp. first. Se-Kaiba promised me that I get to be the first to try out his new gizmo that I get ta show at princess day. But I'll definitely be there." Joey held Ryou's hand for reassurance. The two shared a quick kiss which had the others automatically snuggle with their boyfriend. They spent the rest of lunch and school doing the ordinary thing.

Afterwards, Joey drove over to Kaiba corp. where he was led by Roland to the building's testing room. Another man entered the room with the wristband in a case. Roland taught him of how to set the wristband on and what to do. The right-hand man also informed him that Mr. Kaiba was watching from where Joey could see a window from above .

Joey looked to the window, and thought about how Kaiba was looking down at him with that indifferent facial expression. His eyes completely concentrated on his movements. That made the cross dresser feel kind of nervous to know those ethereal eyes were completely on him as if he was the only one who existed.

Jona stood beside him. Her form expressed her delight to what the male was about to do. She warmly smiled at him with twinkling eyes. She had her hands snake to his cheeks and cup them like precious stones. **"Close your eyes, my beautiful Joey because once you release your red eyes, you will want to absolutely and solely experience the feeling that's been denied from you for too long. Meditate into a world of darkness, and you'll be able to finally free your souls and be together."** She let him go and stepped back.

Joey took a deep breath, took out his card, stared at it for a moment, and then took another deep breath while closing his eyes. He let himself enter a calming state of darkness before his hand had his card swiped.

And then something wicked happened. He felt like a part of him be removed from his being and all that was left was ecstasy throughout his entire body. He opened his eyes and right before him was red eyes in its full form right before him. Their eyes met, and he heard him. He heard red eyes speak to him but not in a language he knew. However, he understood him. Joey understood him and cried.

He ran to red eyes and embraced his head with all his might. He felt his bravery, his power, his safety...he felt his sanctuary within the wings of his red eyes. "You're here. You're here!" He kissed his dragon's snout, and laid his head against the gap between his dragon's eyes. "Jona was right." He whispered, and then cried out, "We are connected! And thank you. Thank you so much for being there for Yugi during Battle City, and fighting by my side through everything. I love you."

He heard his red eyes be welcomed, and infused Joey with love.

Kaiba was astonished. Joey shouldn't be able to hold onto the dragon since it was a hologram, and the dragon wasn't doing any of what it was supposed to do automatically after being summoned. His scientists didn't understand of what was happening either. Their computers were unable to decipher the data that was trying to pass through their computer system that it shut down.

And then the most impossible thing happened. The dragon took flight and circled the ceiling. It's wings created a gust of wind that tremored the window. Kaiba panicked when he thought that the system was going haywire which was putting Joey into immediate danger, so he made a quick dash to the testing room.

However, when he reached the room, he was met with a joyful, tearing, Joey who gave him the brightest smile as he leaped into his arms with a cry, "Thank you! Thank you!" He kissed Seto right on the lips, and there was this short gust of wind enveloping them as if it could've became a tornado, yet it swept away when the blond let go, and ran back to his dragon.

Seto just stood there, dumbstruck, as his hand touched his kissed lips. Jona watched his eyes. Since the first time she saw him, she noticed how cold his eyes were like many others, but now, she witnessed the rarest sight of the trained male's cold eyes light up. Now everything within the room was as bright as an island's sun.

She smiled, and then faced Joey. **"Now let me teach you how to train a dragon. Let's shrink him first to a more fitting size because it would not bode well with the public to see a live dragon these days. And then we shall call your friends to witness such a grand event as well."**

Joey nodded happily. He then learned that it mainly took a good relationship and communication with Red eyes since the dragon already had Pyrrhus available to teach the dragon of what it could do alone, yet together was a different matter. But that was for another day.

The blond then left after successfully having Red eyes shrink into puppy-size, and still capable of taking flight and let out a few fire balls that was harmless to the testing room's walls. Red eyes had been put back into his card, but promised to be released soon.

Joey also left Kaiba completely stupid about what had just happened. The brunet needed a moment to himself before he would wrap his mind around this or put this on a shelf of unexplainable crap from the dweeb squad.

The amber-eyed duelist called his friends to meet up at the docks so he was able to display his dragon. They were in complete awe, and barraged him with questions about what he could do, and if Seto knew about this as well.

The blond reasoned that Kaiba would not believe the dragon was real unless he was able to explain it which would be impossible considering that it took a part of Joey's strength to make the duel monster real. Their link was just like the time when they traveled through Atem's memories, and they felt the pain of losing their duel monsters.

Although, now that there was no world threat against them, everything was okay, and Joey had his own pet dragon from now on.

"Isn't he awesome Yug'?" Joey asked him. The two were sitting at the edge of the dock. Everyone else was busy playing with red eyes in his puppy-sized form. Yugi was also playing for a moment before moving away.

"Yeah, Joey. He really is." The shorter teen gave him a quick smile.

Joey wasn't buying it. "C'mon Yug'. What's wrong? Does it have to do with Atem?"

Yugi looked down at the water below them. He saw his reflection clearly. "I'm sorry, Joey. I'm trying to be happy for you, and I know I'll see Atem again, but..." He looked back to see that Tristan was flailing his body when red eyes carried him around by Jona's command. Everyone else was laughing. "I can't help getting the feeling that something bad is about to happen. Jona didn't come here with a mission, but I feel like a mission is about to be delivered, and we're all graduating." He looked down again. "And I get the feeling that playing duel monsters isn't going to fix anything since your type of game is becoming a lot more...physical. I'm scared for you, Joey."

Joey looked out to the deep blue sea. He remembered when Yugi and him were pegged against each other by Marik when he was evil. He remembered how it felt to be controlled, how it felt to be weak, and how it felt to break free and everything came out okay.

"Yug'...I'm not gonna lie to you, and tell you that everything's going to be alright. I knew from the beginning that when I met Jona, a lot of shit was bound to happen like when Atem entered our lives, but a lot of good things will happen, too. I was scared for you, too, Yug', but I never stopped believing in you. I need you to do the same fer me."

Yugi was hesitant because despite everything he went through, and how strong he became, he can't help but feel a swell of uselessness when he can't protect Joey. Just like when Joey had to face Diesel, and went through a lot of pain because of that. It killed Yugi to see him hurt, but now Joey was fine. And now, his best friend, his first real friend, was asking him to do the same thing.

Thinking back then to all his dangerous adventures, Joey barely understood that he had Atem by his side to help him, so always thought of Yugi and Atem as one person. Either way, the blond never remained doubting him. When Yugi told him he could do it, he supported him without hesitance. Yugi needed to do that. He needed to believe in Joey's strength.

So he gave his friend a big smile. "I will, Joey, but if you need help, don't hesitate to call me. I am the king of games after all." He gave a teasing wink.

Joey warmly smiled at him. He then grinned childishly, and headlocked the teen. "Now that we got that settled, let's see if I can get the dark magician out! This wristband can release as much monsters as I want! Isn't that cool?! Maybe you'll be able to talk to the guy who is the dark magician! Marad or something!"

A dangerous thought nearly came to Yugi's mind, but he shook his head, and nodded. "Let's! But you better keep this new found ability a secret, Joey. You have no idea what people will plan to do with it."

"No worries! I got this in the bag! Red eyes and I agreed that he will only be allowed in public on Royals day, and when he gets his shape-shifting powers under control so he can be my new pet! But for a certain amount of time since keeping him here is draining my energy a bit. Jona says I have a ton of energy which is why I'm rarely sick, but even a mighty warrior reincarnation like me has limits."

And so Joey was capable of releasing the dark magician after Jona took her leave. She just wasn't prepared to meet someone of the past yet which surprised Joey and the two ex-hikaris. Yet they didn't question her as she left.

Mahad appeared before them, and then Dark magician girl did the same. It was an interesting moment for everyone as they talked about whatever came to mind. They learned about the different dimensions of the duel monsters, and how Atem was doing in the spirit world.

A dangerous thought came to everyone's mind, but they let it go.

._._._.

The day before royals day, Joey spent it with Red eyes, Jona and Pyrrhus. Red eyes was quite the quick learner so the dragon was capable of learning how to do a certain wish that Joey wanted.

And so came Royals day, Joey didn't have a dress yet, so he had to choose the ones lined up for him. He chose the least sparkly dress that was cotton pink, and had a full skirt. It was actually pretty, but again, Joey did not like sparkles. Like he wasn't a neck-tie suit guy, he just wasn't a sparkly ballgown guy either.

His blond hair was done in a beehive with a tiara; his makeup made him appear femininely cute, and his kitten heels were cotton pink just like his dress.

The royals day fair took place at the park where booths lined up all around and imported rides was placed for kids to play in. It could've taken place at Kaibaland, but the park was more enchanting.

Joey walked around the place where he was approached by kids, teens, and adults who knew him and barraged him with questions and compliments. Some children were just staring at him like babies since it wasn't everyday that they actually meet a guy who can pass for a pretty princess. Joey didn't mind the stares. He's used to it by now.

"What kind of princess are you?" A little girl asked.

"What kind?" Joey repeated, and then grinned, "Well, you should know that I am the dungeon dice duel monsters king or queen, but I'd like to think that if I was to be entitled as a princess, I'd be the princess of the red eyes black dragon!"

"The red eyes black dragon? But he's scary looking." The little girl pointed out with furrowed brows.

Joey lightly laughed. "Yeah, he's scary. But there's a lot of scary people. Even the pretty ones are scary, and the one who look scary may actually be nice. It's best not to judge a book by it's cover." He gave a friendly wink.

The girl seemed to understand. "OOOOh. But you don't look like you would be the princess of the red eyes black dragon. You look like you'd be the princess of candy and roses."

Joey knew that. He smirked with a quirked eyebrow and a finger to his chin. "You're right. I should change my look, but not right now."

"What do you mean?'

"Just wait until I have to stand on stage to welcome everyone. I need to go now." He walked away, and found Kisandra who was dressed like a prince. He snickered, "No way! You're dressing up as a prince?"

Kisandra proudly stood up straight with fists on her hips, "Yes. I figured that I should also be a model for kids to know that whatever gender we are, we can dress as any title we wished to be at the moment. And must I say, you look lovely. I take it that the dress your grandmother made for you had not come yet."

"Not exactly. Just wait."

The female CEO cocked her head at this. And then the two were being called on stage.

The two walked onto the stage where Seto and Mokuba were standing on, too, since they were sponsoring the fair. The Kaiba brothers dressed for the ocassion with Mokuba dressed as a prince, and Seto properly dressed as the king. Kisandra stood at Kaiba's left while Mokuba stood at his right, and Joey stood beside the younger Kaiba.

"Welcome royals of Domino City!" The speaker told the crowd who gathered in front of them. "I hope you guys are having fairy-tastic day!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes at the slang. He wanted the day to end once he got here just in time for the greetings. A minute in, and he was ready to ditch the place. The only bright side of coming was seeing Joey dressed in his ridiculous sparkling princess get-up. It wasn't the second-rate duelist's style at all, and he could see it clearly from the way the blond walked in the dress that he knew that, too. Joey didn't walk with the same self-confidence, and energetic cheerfulness that he usually did.

"Now, would one of our sponsors like to say word?" The speaker questioned.

Kisandra took the microphone. She spoke with her melodious voice, "It is fortunate to be among other royalty. Especially the beautiful princesses of Domino City. I hope that you are all enjoying today, and know well that your contribution to these booths are well appreciated to these different services."

She looked to the others to speak. Kaiba and Mokuba didn't plan to say anything, so Joey took the microphone.

He announced in his female voice, "Hey everyone! Thank you for coming to the Royals day fair cuz I have a special treat for you! A special princess here asked me of what kind of princess I am, and I told her that I was the red eyes black dragon princess. A lot of you may not know this, but there's a message behind the red eyes black dragon like there is one for the blue eyes white dragon! The blue eyes white dragon promises certain victory, but the red eyes black dragon promises to bring the potential for victory! So I am the type of princess who knows that even when the odds are against him or her, I will continue fighting to the end! And not let my loses get the best of me!"

He carelessly threw the microphone to the air! He took out his red eye black dragon card, and swiped it against his wristband. In front of the crowd, a shadowy smoke whirled around him. The crowd could see that the smoke was burning her dress as it circled her, and then that smoke went out into the sky.

That smoke turned into the Red Eyes Black Dragon that cried out its mighty cry, and Joey's dress transformed into a dress fit for a warrior. He wore a black and silver leather armored corset with intricate designs of his red eyes' dragon scales, and the black dragon's head with ruby eyes. His shoulder guards spiked out. His three-layered, leather, tassel black skirt reached midway down his thighs, and he also wore black knee-length combat boots.

Joey's hair was let down, and his tiara changed into black with red rubies. His lips turned into pure red as black eyeshadow was over his lids. Everyone saw his golden blond hair darkened to black as it braided itself which was actually Jona's doing. Joey's eyes glowed red for a moment before turning dimming down to an auburn color.

When the transformation was done, Red eyes let out his blast of fire which turned into fireworks in the sky. That got the kids really excited.

Joey caught the microphone. "Have a royal day!" He gave the microphone back to the dumbstruck speaker. He looked to Kisandra and the Kaiba brothers who were jaw-dropped. "So what do ya think?!" He twirled around for them. "Do you like my warrior princess look? Or do you think I should've added gloves or silver cuffs to it?"

Kaiba was the first to shake out of his stupor. He was about to speak, but the Mokuba jumped in. "THAT WAS SO COOL! How did you do that?!"

Joey whispered in his ear about the wristband, his soul, and Jona's teachings. The pre-teen understood, and grinned widely. Kisandra and Kaiba wanted to know, but if Joey was going to whisper it to Mokuba, then it was obvious that they could not know at the moment.

"Now, how about we enjoy the rest of the fair! Red eyes!" Joey called out, and the dragon returned to him in his puppy-size. It squawked happily when it landed on his shoulder. Joey snuggled his cheek against his dragon before running out to the crowd of kids who wanted to see and touch it. Yet, they moved away when Red eyes tried to approach them.

Red eyes hung his head at this. Joey pet the dragon, and made it make a happy rumbling sound. Seeing this, the kids each took turns petting it. Red eyes adored the affectionate touches, although he flew away when one of the kids had sticky hands. "Better keep your hands clean kids." Joey bought hand sanitizer from one of the booths and put it on the kid's sticky hand.

Kisandra and Kaiba watched him. "How can you not be in love with him?"

"Easy. His attitude is nauseating. I mean seriously. Wheeler is becoming freaking Mother Theresa right now." Kaiba admired that, but right now, it was ridiculous. C'mon! Children! Other than Mokuba and him, they're untamed stupid creatures, but now they're angels?!

And now Mokuba's joining them and the dragon is on his head as if it's some nest. It even looked like it was putting weight on his head. Kaiba swore to himself that he was seeing things.

"It's a pretty impressive hologram and robot display that your company has created." Kisandra said before she excused herself to mingle with the crowd, too.

Seto knew that wasn't the truth, but the brunet reasoned that Joey must've had his "friend" add those special effects and the pet robot dragon. It eased his mind at the moment before he placed it in his box of things half-way figured out, but not worth his time or sanity.

Then Seto was distracted from Joey to be whispered about a breakthrough in his company by Roland. He nodded, and then glanced over to Joey once more, but the blond vanished into the crowd.

"Dad!" Joey ran over to his father who was dressed as a knight. The blond sent him the costume. Joey's red eyes was still flying in the air freely. "I'm so glad that you made it! What did ya think of my performance? Pretty snazzy right?"

His father grinned at him. "That was off the roof son! If you kids even say that anymore." The man told him lamely, but it sounded like bell chimes to Joey.

His son gave him a light punch to the arm. "We do, but oldies like ya gotta stop trynna try to say our words." He joked.

"Ouch." His father chuckled.

Then an idea sparked in the young blond's head that his eyes twinkled. It's been almost a decade since the two had been to a fair together. He wanted to live this moment to the fullest! "Hey, remember when I was eight, and we rode those cups that go around?"

"Oof!" His father held his stomach as if he's been struck hard enough to be put into a brief daze. "I can remembah wantin' ta puke!"

"Let's ride it together! There's nothing wrong with two grown men gettin' on for one ride! C'mon dad!"

"I'd love ta. Just let me tell Conner.

"Conner?" Joey didn't know his father made a new friend, though the name sounded familiar. He then saw his dad's therapist, dressed as a page-boy, step up beside his father. "Mr. McConnen?"

The therapist gave him a professional smile out of habit, though didn't rose his hand to be keep things casual and familiar. "It's nice to see you, again, Joseph, and must I say that your performance was really off the hook! If you kids still say that that is." He said

"Don't bother Conner." Joey's father smiled a little too happily at the man who was supposed to keep his distance for the sake of professionalism. The space between their shoulders being too small for Joey's preference. "Apparently us oldies shouldn't bother speakin' slang anymore."

_"Conner?"_

**"Your father has himself a mate."**

_"Thanks for pointin' that out."_ Joey thought sarcastically. _"I can't believe this! He's supposed to be getting over alcoholism and gambling! Not gettin' hitched! I didn't pay thousands of dollars, spent hundred of hours workin' my ass off, and have let my life be completely exposed to the world for him to play around! I can't believe I-"_

**"Calm down, Joey. Do not let your mind think regretting thoughts."**

_"But he-"_

**"He has his side of the story."** Jona stressed.

Joey let go a bit of his anger, but he was still not accepting his father's attitude at the moment.

In the present, Mr. McConnen gave an, "Ouch." to his father's latest statement.

"That's what I said." His father chuckled again, but a little more throaty as if it was awkwardly coming from the chest.

Joey gave a thin smile. "Dad, can we talk alone for a moment? Sorry, Mr. McConnen, I need him for a moment." He didn't wait for an answer when he took his dad's hand and dragged him away to the outside of the fair grounds.

Once safe from be heard, he shouted, "You're dating your rehab therapist?!"

His father was startled by the sudden question. "What?! No! Okay, I am. What's wrong wit' dat?"

"I didn't spend thousands of dollars on your rehab for you ta hook up with your therapist!" The actor pointed an infuriated finger at him. "And when were you Bi?!"

"Yeah, dat surprised me, too." His father told him calmly which did nothing for the agitation he felt. "But it's alright, Joe. I'm in love with him."

Joey was surprised by this. More than surprised. He was shocked. Pure shock that he thought that he had just got into a car crash and was no doing what he was supposed to do to prevent himself from going into shock.

He blurted, "What do you know about love?" He regretted those words when he saw how hurt it made his father look. Joey felt his eyes cowardly look away, but he had the justifiable means to ask that question. He went through this man's hateful abuse. He remembered all the times he's been called unlovable, useless, and worthless while being beat down unmercifully when he did nothing wrong.

Joey felt his legs move to run away from this man who disappointed him for the last time, but Jona held him still. Her arms wrapped around him, and gave him strength to look at the man. He deeply appreciated that strength since Jona and him were practically related. If she wasn't here, Joey would've given up on family. His father failed him, his mother was repulsed by him, and Serenity and him are always pulled away from each other. He was just done with this.

"Joe," His father said seriously. Joey urged himself to listen. "I love you, son. I know I was a monster, and I want to be better. But dangit! I know what love is! I just lost sight of it when I became an addict!"

Joey tried to believe him, and remembered those loving memories. He steeled himself away from hate, and looked at the man with an open and forgiving mind. He asked, "So what makes you so sure you're in love with Mr. McConnen."

His father looked down while scratching the back of his head. He nervously chuckled. "We've been datin' since December."

"December?!"

"Let's just say we went to a bar that didn't sell alcohol-Can you believe that? A bar-"

"Stay on track, dad."

"Right." He licked his lips. "So y'see, Mr. McConnen was showin' me dat I could still go to a bar n' it was a pretty clean place. It felt like a bar, but more...clean. Conner n' I talked. Some young gentleman spilled his drink on me, n' here's where the funny part comes. De gentleman paid fer our drinks, n' de funny ding is dat de juice gave mah a funny odor, n' de rehab's water is off fer the night due ta some problems, so Conner offers a shower at his place. N' since it was late, offered ta sleep dere to."

"Oh gawd." Joey closed his eyes, covered his mouth and shook his head. He knew where the story was heading.

"Let me finish. So I showered, slept at the couch, but I woke up to take a wizz, n' de bathroom is next to his room, so after takin' a piss, I passed through his room dat happened to be a wee bit open, n' I heard him moanin'."

"Oh gawd, I don't need the details!"

"Okay! Okay! Long story short, we did it dat night."

Joey grimaced at him. His father could have said that a lot more cleaner than that. "So what? You fell in love with him the next day."

"Nah. It was complicated cuz he didn't want me ta tell ya cuz ya could've gotten upset, n' he needed ta be proffessional. I said okay, b't we still kept doin' it."

"Dad!"

"Alright! Alright! So his Magellan, his dog, dies, n' we both happen ta love that K9, so we got closer than ever. Ya tellin' de world dat yer mother refused ta let ya see Serenity, he stopped me from drivin' over ta dat bitch n' givin' her a piece of my mind. We got even more closer. N' we just kept getting' closer n' closer ta de point when March came around n' he dumps me cuz one of de odder therapist was suspicious about us. N' I..." Joey's father looked for the right words. "I became stronger. Conner tried to avoid me as much as possible after de break up n' I almost turned to alcohol, but when I had dat bottle in hand, I knew it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to replace him."

His father quickly added, "It doesn't mean dat bottle replaced you, Joe. Just dat, I knew what dat bottle could do now, n' I didn't want dat. I wanted what I had wit' Conner n' dat bottles not gonna give me dat. I don't wanna be stupid. So I smashed de bottle, went up to Conner, confessed my love, n' den we did it on the living room rug of the rehab center. The security team be damned to separate us."

"Dad?! Stop! Am I some magazine dat screams at people to tell me about their sex lives?!" Joey let out of his chest. And then calmed down, and understood what his dad meant, and was truly relieved. So relieved that he felt stupid for being mad in the first place, but he was still justifiably mad. He let it go, and confessed, "And I guess, I'm happy for you dad. No, I am happy for you. I'm glad you found a way to get over alcohol in a...loving matter. I hope you and...Conner will remain happy together, and hopefully not gettin' arrested for exhibition."

His father laughed and patted Joey's shoulder. "Me too, son. And don't you dink it's about time?"

"Time for what?" They didn't schedule for anything else to do today.

"Ta find your first love." His father replied as if the answer was obvious.

Joey was still bewildered, "Dad, I already told you I'm in love with Ryou. It's not the guy I've been tellin' ya about, but I love him."

"Nah." His father shook his head knowingly. "That is just puppy love. You're not truly in love, son."

Joey couldn't believe he was having this kind of talk with his dad. But the duelist stayed respectable. "Everyone falls in love differently dad."

"I may not have been sober for the last seven or eight years of your life, Joe, but I know you." That was hard to believe for the younger Wheeler. "Like I know dis whole actin' gig isn't gonna last fer least five to ten years dependin' on a television series contract you agree to, and yer restaurant dream is gonna be a reality, n' it's gonna become a chain reaching its peak, n' still going after fifteen years later, I know you're not in love." His father shook his head again. "Nah. Joe, ya love de guy ya been tellin' me about. Cuz ya light up when ya talk about dis guy den that boy, Ryou."

Joey frowned. He had told his dad about Kaiba without giving a name, and he did still like him. "Even if yur right, it doesn't matter. He's going to marry the one he loves."

"Well den, dat bedder be you, if what ya said is gonna come true. Think of it dees way Joey, right now you're holdin' that bottle of sweet pure whiskey in yur hand. Now that whiskey represents yur future of ignorin' yur heart n' yur gut. It's gonna be pretty good, but y'know yur not bein' truly honest wit' yurself. Think on dat."

His son's frown deepened. He got that his father told him that even when he succeeded his dream of a restaurant, he wasn't going to be truly happy like a lot of other lonely successful people with a cold bed to return to at home.

His father widened his arms and called for his son to come into his embrace. Jona unwrapped her arms. Joey walked into his father's arms, and got a handy pat on the back which kept this hug manly between them.

Joshua Wheeler then got his son in a friendly headlock hold to keep him close. His father jokingly asked, "So when yur gonna get married, are ya gonna buy a wedding suit or dress?"

His son lightly laughed and lightly elbowed him away. His father held his side, and badly acted as if it hurt.

"I hope I'm not bothering your moment." Mr. McConnen sheepishly appeared.

"Nah." Joey's dad wrapped his arm around his waist. "Just talkin' about love."

"Oh, so you told him." He gave Joey a guilty yet hopeful expression. "I hope you don't mind."

"He don't mind. Right Joe?" His father questioned. The couple looked at the young man expectedly.

Joey shrugged his shoulders. "Not at all. I know I can trust my dad with you Mr. McConnen."

The therapist's posture relaxed. "Please call me Conner, and I promise to do my best."

Joshua snorted, "Get any bedder n' I'll be his slave. N' since I'm cured, or better way of sayin' it, less of an idiot, Joe, ya don't have ta pay for my rehab bills anymore! I got myself a job, n' stayin' at Conner's! So thank you for everythin'."

That sounded like heaven's music in Joey's ears that he got teary-eyed. He hugged the both of them. The two men comforted him. Jona also got teary-eyed and wiped a tear away. Red eyes squawked happily and let out a balls of fire that shaped a heart in the sky.

For the rest of the day, Joey felt like a huge chunk of his life was succeeded.

._._._.

At Kaiba corp., Kaiba strode into the building where he was keeping his company's traitor. He was among a group of men who worked under him. They specialized in getting information out of anyone in any way they knew would work.

"What has the traitor finally told you?" Kaiba questioned stringently. It had been months, after all.

The man, who stepped forward, answered, "There's a cult created in honor of your step-father Gozaburo Kaiba. The cult's followers strongly believe that Gozaburo walks among the living in a different body of a young man. The impostor's true identity is unknown."

"Do we have a location of where this cult usually meets?"

"The traitor spoke of an island, but cannot tell us where it is located since he was a new member who was blindfolded. But he was sure he was placed on a boat, and where he went was tropical. That is all we could get out of him, Mr. Kaiba."

That didn't satisfy the CEO, but it had to do. He gave the orders, "Continue questioning him, and I want there to be a thorough search for this cult! Do I make myself clear?"

All the men said in unison, "Yes, Mr. Kaiba!"

Seto was not shaken up by this news. A cult was nothing, but he definitely wanted to rid of it since it was dedicated to his deceased step-father.

Unknown to him, he didn't truly know the dangers of this cult. Especially when members of the cult followed a certain blond around.

As well as a certain girl with green mint bangs.

Noe Kaima aka Noah Kaiba was currently living in America. She didn't attend school since she was able to steal thousands of dollars under the government's noses. What she really did with her time was either work on her computer programs, walk around the city she resided in, or stared at pictures of Mokuba.

Right now, she was reading the latest news on Mokuba. Noe truly missed him, and wished that she wasn't truly Noah Kaiba within a female's body. Yet, she was, and didn't feel like she deserved to be loved by Mokuba. This was her punishment for daring to kill him and his family and friends.

She was a mess of a person! A maniac who had lived in seclusion for nearly a decade that drove her to become a desperate virtual psychopath! She and Mokuba reconciled at the end of that disaster, but she can't forgive herself! She can't love herself! She honestly believed that nobody should love her! There would be nothing but discomfort and pity if they did. She didn't want to be pitied. She would rather be alone and rejected. She's used to that.

"Continuing to wallow in your own self-created misery, Noe?" Her uncle aka the scientist, who she paid to give her this body, rhetorically questioned. The man had returned from a night of whatever he wanted to do, and found his niece/client sitting on the couch of their living on a laptop.

Noe snapped, "Shut up! I'll do what I want!"

"Like you always do." The man said tiredly.

She threw a pillow at him. "I told you to shut up! I'm not currently paying you to annoy me!"

"No. You pay me to make sure your body remains stable or add enhancements." He said and then Noe's laptop's alarms go off.

The two quickly rushed to be prepared before the apartment's lights cut off, and men with night vision goggles and guns kicked down the door. Her and and the scientist knew that they were bound to be attacked since Noe was the daughter of a notorious military business owner, the scientist had built illegal and destructive weapons, and they were both stealing money, so they've been prepared.

"Don't move." Noe faced her palms to them. Her wrist detached from her arms and rose up to reveal dangerous sonic cannons. Her uncle had his own lazer gun at hand. "Why are you here?"

One of them shouted, "Where here under the order of Gozaburo Kaiba!"

Noe furrowed her brows out of confusion and anger. "My father?! But he's dead!"

"That's where your wrong, Noah." A man strode in. The girl expected to see her father, but the person didn't look a day over twenty-five. He spoke with the same stern, demanding tone, though. "Or should I call you Noe, now. Not that Noah isn't considered a female name, but you get where I'm going with this."

Noe bared her teeth. She aimed both her cannons at him. "You're not my father! You look nothing like him!"

The stranger grinned condescendingly just like how her father did. "Just like how you look nothing like you. You see Noah, you're not the only one who had a backup plan just in case someone planned to set me up for a presumed, inevitable death."

Reality shocked her. She nearly dropped her arms. "No..." She shook her head and straightened her arms again. "No! There's no way that you could-"

"But I did." The man interjected. His footsteps approached her; Noe stepped back out of fear. "I guess the saying is true. Like father like son."

Those words sounded like a curse had been put on the young girl. She felt her resolution to fight falter, but then her fear of being put back into an isolated virtual world again put her on edge, and she fired her cannons.

Mokuba instinctively looked over his shoulder. All he saw was costumed people walking around the fair.

"What's wrong, Mokuba?" Joey questioned. Jona knew well of that sudden movement, but she had no idea of what the pre-teen could have possibly sensed. Seto wasn't in danger nor was Kisandra. She was currently with them.

Mokuba looked to Joey. He didn't know why he felt worried at the moment. He shook it off. "Nothing."

Joey sort of believed him. He recognized this as just being one of those weird, random moments people have. "If ya say so. But ya better relaxed, or else you'll end up bein' paranoid like yur brother." He teased to relax whatever false tension the kid was having.

It kind of helped as Kisandra giggled. "Can you go through one day without insulting Mr. Kaiba?"

"Only if he can." Joey half-joked.

Kisandra laughed which helped lighten the atmosphere more between the three of them. Yet, Mokuba still had this nagging feeling on his back as if someone was trying to reach him.

Unknown to him, Noe was lying on the floor with glass shards sticking into her body. Apparently, her father was prepared for the blast, and had it backfire at her. Her uncle bolted out of the place. It was okay since it was expected. Noe was sure that her father wouldn't find him, and it didn't matter since he got who he really wanted.

The very man toward over her. She ordered, "Kill me. I won't do anything you want anymore, anyway. So get over it."

Gozaburo laughed! He laughed as if he was truly satisfied of the circumstances. His own son within a pre-teen girl's body that was currently in pain and covered by her blood. The man's laugh calmed down his laughter, but he remained chuckling. "Still a spoiled brat til the end, huh, Noah!" He stomped on her gut which had her cough out blood.

Noe forgot how to breathe as her widened shocked eyes were expressing of how much pain she was. That looked seemed to satisfy her father more. Slowly did she gasp in scanty amounts of air.

Gozaburo then examined her with a stern expression. Noe let out pleading tears since she couldn't use words. She wasn't strong. Her will was always weak to begin with so she gave in to him. She had nothing to fight for anyway.

Her father seemed to notice that, so smiled.

._._._.

Joey and Kisandra were currently at his school's gym to be present for the art gallery. Ryou's painting covered by a sheet, and to be showed later.

Joey greeted them to each other. "Kisandra. Ryou. Ryou. Kisandra." He faced his boyfriend. "She's Seto's fiance'! Can you believe that?!"

Ryou gave a pleasant smile to the female. "It's nice to finally, formally meet you, Ms. Labelle. You are as beautiful as Joey described you to be. And far more beautiful than the pictures the news take of you. I guessed it's too be expected that a beauty such as yours cannot be properly caught through lens."

Kisandra's eyes lit up by the compliment. Her pale cheeks revealing a tinit of pink. "Oh my, you are as lovely as Jojo told me you'd be. It's a pleasure to be complimented by another man other than Jojo since I've arrived here."

Joey was surprised. "What? How can no one compliment you?"

"Everyone expects a beauty to be complimented without realizing that no one does due to that expectation." Kisandra explained.

**"She's correct. I lived without receiving compliments for my looks since everyone thought I didn't need them."** Jona agreed.

"Hasn't Kaiba complimented you?" Ryou questioned since he didn't hear the CEO's name.

The girl sadly smiled. "I'm afraid he only compliments Jojo's appearance." She lied. Kaiba never verbally told her, but the way the man looked at Joey, it's hard not to believe that the male was doing it mentally.

Now the golden blond was struck with disbelief. "You must be hearin' things, Kisandra. There's no way Seto would compliment me out loud."

She gave an innocent smile. "Oh, but he does, Jojo. He was just not aware that I was listening." She spoke a string of lies. "You may not know this, but Mr. Kaiba has the habit of speaking to himself. I heard him back at the charity gala that you looked rather decent in your red dress. And when the two of you danced, you were the only thing, other than Mokuba, who wasn't an eyesore. And then during our dates when we'd see a picture or commercial of you, his eyes would be fixated on you that I become invisible. He spoke that the industry wasn't doing justice for you. And even on royals day, you looked ridiculous in that pink dress, but when you changed it, he said softly that you were amazing."

Joey stared at her throughout her monologue. His eyes showed a sign of conflict since he felt a wholesome happiness from hearing her say that, but then he knew it wasn't right. It meant that he was stealing the limelight from Kisandra. And it was even awkward that his boyfriend was hearing this.

He played it cool. "That's nice, but it would be really nice if he'd just tell me that himself. I bet he does the same about you Kisandra, but not when he knows you're around." He held his boyfriend's hand. "C'mon. Let's look at some portraits n' stuff."

Jona kept her mouth shut as she talked to Joey. **"She was lying."**

Joey kept his face blank_. "Why'd she do that?"_

**"In order for you to draw out a truth. She's aware of your relationship with Kaiba, and maybe she's suspicious of how deep your relationship is."**

_"I don't-"_

**"We talked about you using that phrase."**

_"Right. Well...I guess if I was in Kisandra's shoes, I'd also be worried if a cold ass like Seto only had one friend other than Mokuba, and they got along better than us. But Seto's not gay."_

**"You're really going to use that argument?"**

_"Good point. But even if I was a girl, Seto would never see me as anything more than a friend, and frighteningly, a possible side piece. Nothing about me changed personality-wise, and I'm still a pretty average student now with trying."_

**"Maybe something in Kaiba changed."**

_"Like what?"_

**"I don't know, but it's a possibility."**

_"Whatever it is, Seto's gotta get his mind on track. He's meant for Kisandra. He just doesn't know it yet. I don't care of what my dad or anyone says. Seto and I won't happen."_

**"You really have it set in your mind that you two are not meant for each other."**

_"Of course! Kisandra and Seto are meant for each other!"_

**"Pardon my rudeness, my Joey, but you sound like you're trying to convince yourself now."**

_"No! I am..." _Joey let out a reluctant heavy sigh. _"Can we stop talking about this, please?"_

**"Alright my Joey."** Jona told him, yet added, **"But for a sidenote, Kisara and Seth weren't soulmates."**

_"WHAT?!"_ He looked to Kisandra and Ryou who were discussing fervently over another student's portrait of some random girl. He gave an awkward grin. "Hey guys, I need to use the restroom, don't mind me! Continue on with this art gallery!"

Ryou and Kisandra blinked at him with blank faces. The white haired male tell him to take things easy in the loo with his sexy British accent.

Joey rushed outside of the gym, and stood angrily at an isolated corridor of the school. _"What do you mean they aren't soul mates! Y'mean ta tell me that I've been lying to Kaiba and myself this whole time, n' said nothing about it!"_

**"That's because you're so fussy when it comes to love, my sweetest yet apprehensive Joey."** She laid in the air, floating in front of him. **"And do keep your voice down when I say this. You have been in Atty's (Atem) memories, however you didn't see what happened after he disappeared. Kisara wasn't killed by Seth's father, but was in stasis. With my power, I woke her from that stasis because she's my beloved third sister."**

_"Kisara was your sister?!"_

**"Yes. We share the same biological father. I kept that fact away from you, so you and Kisandra may grow a more natural relationship which I am most joyful that you two did."**

_"That makes sense. So what happened after Kisara woke up? Didn't her and Seth reunite and she became his queen or something."_

**"That was the plan. Kisara did care for Seth a great deal, yet she was in love with Bakura who happened to be my boyfriend during her engagement to Seth."** Jona gave a mild, sheepish smile at the dropped jaw that Joey gave her. **"Yes. As much as I am not one who wants to converse with drama, Kisara and Bakura had an affair before the wedding behind both Seth's and I's back. They happened to both had a moment of weakness for each other. Since Kisara and I are sisters with dragon enhanced abilities, I naturally sensed the next day that she was pregnant. I also happened to have the ability to sense who the father was."**

_"But Kisara wouldn't do that! She'd never do that!"_

**"That's what I thought, but no. When I discovered that her and Bakura had a one night affair, I was betrayed by not only by my lover but my sister, so I fled to South Egypt...to cry."** Jona was uncomfortable of confessing that she cried. It made her feel childish.

Joey empathized with her. "Did_ Seth know?"_

**"That's where the crazy part comes in. Kisara and Bakura decided to do the second stupidest thing: to run away from Egypt together."**

_"They just left?!"_

**"They were rightfully scared to think that if Seth knew, he would've killed Bakura. So when I sensed them trying to leave the borders of Egypt, I stopped them. We made an agreement that the two will return to the palace under my protection, and that I was the one to tell Seth the news. That did not go well...at first. Seth was rightfully vengeful, but I was able to calm him down...without wine or sex, and that was a feat since those were my ultimate weapons for peace if the person in charge was truly unruly. Not that I slept with kings for peace. I slept with their wives, and manipulated some to kill their husbands through elaborate ruses. But that's another story for another day."**

Joey decided to put that last piece of information locked within a chest in his mind and thrown into the bottom of the sea of the unconscious. _"So let me get this straight. Bakura and Kisandra are soul mates or was it just a one night stand? Well, Ryou was bein' mighty nice to Kisandra than I've seen him with any other girl."_

**"Bakura and Kisandra were very much in love that you could consider them to be soul mates. But Joey, don't fuss your cute head over this."** She petted ruffled his hair. **"To be honest, I don't believe in the theory of soul mates. However, if you do end up with the one I fell in love with in the end, then I'll believe in that ridiculous theory, too."**

_"And you're still not going ta tell me who it is, aren'tcha."_

**"Nope! But look Joey! You dated Ryou, and you have an image of what you truly want in a relationship! Isn't being insightful a wonderful gift for being reckless!" **She grasped her hands together beside her chin as she smiled proudly at him.

Joey personally thought about it for a moment. _"Well, to be honest, I guess I really am not a romantic guy. What Ryou and I did were romantic and sweet, and I love him for that, but maybe my dad was right. Maybe I just got excited about having my first real date with a guy who actually liked me back, and thought I was in love, but the truth is, I just liked that Ryou liked me and wanted ta keep that around. He is the first guy to confess his feelings for me, after all."_

**"Correct. And what else did you learn?"**

_"Other than not really caring for all that lovey dovey stuff, I still want to be cautious of my virginity. It's stupid."_

**"Nothing is stupid about wanting to protect yourself. If you be reckless with that, you might get STDs. Though curious, how far do you plan on protecting that."**

_"Until marriage?"_

**"You want to be married?"**

_"I...Yeah! I want to be married! My parents' marriage did not work out, but hell, I want to wear a wedding band."_ Joey sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. His fingers rubbing against his left hand's ring finger. _"If a fire burned photos and everything else in our home, then at least we have our wedding rings. I wanna get married, Jona. I wanna start a family or something. I wanna do something my parents failed to do. So the lucky kids whom I adopt will be loved and protected. Blood or not, they'll be mine."_

**"That's a wonderful dream that I can see happening."** Jona sat down next to him and hugged him. She had his head lie down on her shoulder. Joey can feel her soft skin, and her bone as if she wasn't a ghost. He can also feel the heat rising from her flesh which she explained before to be Pyrrhus doing since they are fused.

Joey placed his hand on his wristband which he rarely took off anymore. It was just like how the millennium puzzle was to Yugi; this wristband contained his connection with his beloved red eyes. The dragon and him spending so much time together on his free time, with his friends, and his dreams.

The blond felt so much love and happiness that he began to feel an irritating anxiety for what was to come to stomp on it.

_"Should I break up with Ryou?"_ Joey asked more to himself. _"I mean, it feels kinda pointless now to continue."_

**"That depends. Are you breaking up with him for yourself, or for the soul mates nonsense?"**

Joey didn't have to hesitate. _"Myself, but it'd be nice if Ryou and Kisandra ended up together. Kisandra needs someone who can treat her better than Seto. Not that Seto's bad, but Ryou's more romantic, y'know. And England's not that far from France."_

"Jojo?"

"Kisandra!" Joey got up immediately. Jona stood up languidly. "Hey! I was just relaxin' fer a bit!"

The CEO found his actions to be suspicious, but she could deduce of any possible trickery, so she ignored it. "You were taking a little too long, and Ryou's painting is about to be unveiled. We should go now."

"Right! Let's go!" The two of them walked into the gym. Jona floated behind them.

Everyone was crowded in front of the covered canvas. Ryou greeted and thanked them for attending the art gallery. "Now I give you my latest project that I, myself, entitled, 'The Darkness' Daughter'."

The platinum blond artist pulled the sheet away, and everyone gasped at the sight. On the canvas was a painting of a blonde woman with red eyes and red Grecian attire was kneeling on the ground before water that cast her reflection of holding a lifeless woman with auburn hair and a white Grecian attire.

The mourning woman's hair was grabbed in a tight grip by another woman with a dagger in hand. The attempting murderess was wearing a black Grecian attire; her luminous vibrant eyes had pinpointed pupils as she clenched her jaw hard in rage.

Another female was present. She wore a white Egyptian attire covered in gold and hair was white, skin pale and eyes a vibrant blue. The bottom half of her body was submerged into the water while one of her hands reached out to the woman who was about to die. But that mourning victim had her eyes solely concentrated on the reflection of herself in the water. The expression she had on was left for debate as it could be one of either contemplation or acceptance of her fate.

Everyone was enamored by the piece of art, except for Jona. Her eyes landed on Ryou. When their eyes met, she knew that he knew the truth. The history of her death. She flew away.

_"Jona?!"_

Joey faced Ryou and then at the painting. The painting was morbidly beautiful, yet when he looked closer, he quickly understood of who was the characters in the painting.

The blonde staring at her reflection was Jona (his incarnation); the lifeless woman was Selena (Serenity's incarnation); the murderous woman was Maya (Mai's incarnation); the woman in the water was Kisara (Kisandra's incarnation).

Joey looked at Kisandra to see that she also had a face of confliction but also bewilderment at the painting. "Kisandra?"

The woman snapped her eyes to him as if awoken abruptly from a terrifying trance. "Uhm," She tried to calm herself down. She cleared her throat. "It's a...work of art." She finished lamely.

Joey didn't know of what to say. He had too many questions such as why did Ryou paint this, and why did it affect Jona so much that she fled. He looked to Ryou who was being complimented by the crowd.

The actor knew he couldn't get answers from him soon, so needed to find Jona. "I need ta go. Bye Kiki." Kisandra nodded, and said that she'll tell Ryou before staring at the painting again.

Joey quickly made his way out of the school, and got on his truck. He unleashed his red eyes in his puppy-size form. "Hey buddy." Joey stroked one of his horns which the dragon really liked. "Got a hit on Jona?" The dragon told him that he did. He gave Joey the directions for his drive.

The reincarnation for the woman at a secluded beach with Pyrrhus wrapped around her. Red eyes squawked sadly at his incarnation. The bigger dragon let out a rumble which got the smaller one to nuzzle its head against him.

Joey climbed over the dragons tail to get to the woman who was hugging her legs. She was deep in thought, but was aware of his presence. Her reincarnation simply sat next to him.

After a few moments, she spoke, "**Ryou knows of my past. He must've seen through Bakura's memories of the truth behind my death. The painting only displays the active roles of it of me and my sisters."**

Joey remained silent. No words could make this moment better nor worse, so there was no point of speaking.

Jona confessed,** "I was in my forties when I died which was considered very old during the time, but I was still strong and kicking it since I was half-dragon. I spent most of my time in Egypt than I did in Greece since Maya and Selena had it under control without me. It was peaceful between our two countries." **She paused to recollect. She stared out at the ocean before her as if trying to peer out for another piece of land, but there was nothing for miles. **"But then tragedy struck. Selena was killed within the palace by a dark sorceress whose name no longer matters. Maya fell to grief and guilt since she was responsible to keep her safe. That grief and guilt made her vulnerable to the evil spirits that the sorceress conjured up to soon control her like the evil spirits of Kul Elna controlled Bakura due to his grief and guilt for not protecting Kisara when he thought she was killed."**

She continued, **"The sorceress then controlled everyone in Greece, and so through Maya's order, they took countries that were east, west and north.I tried to stop it, but then in order to do that, I had to kill Maya, but I couldn't do that to her."** She breathed in strongly. She paused to control her voice. **"Five-thousand years and yet I still feel so much pain from the memory because too many people died. There was just too much blood shed, but I couldn't kill my own sister. I hoped that someone else could do it, but Maya just kept getting stronger and further from reason.**

**Not even in the end could I kill her. I didn't argue with anyone who would try to do it. Seth, Kisandra and Bakura joined to try to bring her down. Mana and the other magicians used there strength to conjure up monsters of their own to face my home country's army. And so, Egypt and Greece went into battle. I was stuck in the distance of the battle because I couldn't kill my people."** Jona knew that this was years ago, but it still broke her heart to think of all those innocent people killed because of her. Her breath hitched, and she cringed when she felt her own tears spill without her permission. Joey held her hand. She nodded to that, and then steeled herself.

**"The battle was coming to its climax and it was between Kisara and Maya. Maya took all the dark energy from her warriors and Kisara was given energy from hers. The soldiers came to a standstill, but they didn't. When they launched the blast that would finally determine everything...I stopped it."**

"You stopped it?" Joey finally spoke.

Jona nodded. Her tears disappeared and she was upright again. She nodded, and then smiled brightly at her reincarnation. **"That was the ultimate duel between light and darkness. Nothing could stop the final blast. Not a gust of wind or weapon could touch them in the sky. So there was only one thing I could do: Absorb the damage of the blast. I told everyone that I loved them and was proud to have been their leader before Pyrrhus and I flew up and accepted our fate. In the aftermath of those two attacks, I hit the earth like a commet. A big crater was created beneath me like a prepared grave. I died without ever knowing the aftermath."**

"That's the real reason you didn't move on to the spiritual world huh."

**"Yes. I couldn't decide my loyalty, and ended up dying as traitor for both sides. I slept as a ghost for a few hundred years before I woke up and became a wandering one without a memory. And now, five thousand years later, I'm here with my memories. And seeing the Egypt and Greece still stood a few more thousands of years, Seth lived to a ripe old age, and Maya had surrendered her rule to a nephew of hers, my death wasn't for nothing."**

Jona looked up at the sky. She stared at it as she stood.** "I honestly prefer to forget the war like I do for all the wars I've been through, because I rather just remember the people before, and maybe during and after the wars without the battle details included. Seeing that painting, bought all that pain back, but I'm better now."**

"Are you sure?"

She frowned at the sky. **"I will be after I am done helping you."**

"What'dya mean helpin' me?"

**"I believe that you are going to go through a change, Joey, and you will need all the help you can get. Including mine. So until we go through that dark, jagged path together, I will remain here for the time being."**

"But I thought you didn't come here on the mission."

**"I didn't. But perhaps fate did. And I will love to help you, Joey. The afterlife can wait for me a few more years."**

"Are you sure?"

She gave an optimistic, **"Yes."**

"Okay then. But I'd like to enjoy my time before something wrong happens."

Jona giggled which was a good sign that she was getting better. **"Yes. Let's enjoy the modern world."** She looked down at him with a quaint smile.

Joey grinned back at her, and the two walked away from the beach, and returned to the gym. The place was being cleaned up. Ryou noticed him, and hastily approached him. "Jona, I'm sorry for disrespecting you. I didn't think you would mind."

Jona gave him a hug. Ryou could only see her do it since only Joey could feel her presence. **"It's okay. Your painting is inspirational. I would not be surprised that it would be displayed in a professional art exhibit."**

"I do hope so." Ryou didn't look hopeful much to the two golden blondes. "I've been working on it since I got the millennium ring. Ironic as it could be, the millennium ring inspired me to be a painter. Bakura's memories were an inspiration."

Joey joked, "So one good thing actually came out of having that psycho around!"

Jona laughed. "Bakura always did stir up trouble even without the influence of Zorc." She put her hands on her hips. Her eyes intently on Ryou. "And I can see that some of his naughtiness has been reborn in you. You knew who you are supposed to be with, and you confessed after the news that she came to Domino. You were hoping for some scandalous excitement didn't you?"

Ryou simply gave a placid smile. "I don't know what you are talking about, Jona." He then gave a sly smirk.

Joey's eyes widened. "You were using me?!" He covered his mouth when his voice carried throughout the room. He was lucky to see that the room was clear of people, and a few were just about to enter to clean the rest of the room. He sharply whispered, "How could you do this to me?!"

"I'm not going to apologize, Joey. It was true that I like you, and I enjoyed our time together, but I will admit that I was hoping for some drama out of this. It was a very fetching idea at the time, but alas, I've been revealed due to my passion."

Joey mildly glared at him. He couldn't be angry since he wasn't truly in love with Ryou, and he planned on breaking up with him. "Eh." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "So what now? Are you going to steal Kisandra from Seto like before?"

Ryou shrugged his shoulders. "Kisandra is simply a beauty to me at the moment, but I would love to know her, so I may be going to France instead of England after graduation. It's best that I become something first for such a lady like her. What about you, Joey?"

Joey arched an eyebrow. "What 'bout me?"

Ryou was about to speak, but then Jona stopped him. "Let's not reveal anything shall we. Joey will find love the natural way."

"You are absolutely right, so I shall zip my lips and throw the key." The platinum blond did the gestures charmingly. "It was truly a joy being in love with you these last few weeks, Joey."

The golden blond sheepishly grinned. "Me, too, Ryou! Even though I wasn't really in lo-" Joey was then surprised by a warm, soft kiss on the lips.

Ryou slyly moved away with a sexy smirk and a lingering slip of his hand through Joey's arms. The ex-gangster blushed bright red by the gesture. His heart strings were being lightly plucked, but not enough for Joey to think he was falling in love again.

So that was the end of their relationship. He called Tea to update his blog about it.

Seto was on Joey's blog at the moment to get a good look of the blond he was in love with. He hadn't seen Joey all day, so these pictures, gifs, drawings and videos had to do for the moment. And then there was an update.

Seto refreshed the site's page, and then a wickedly huge grin broke out on his face. His puppy was free earlier than he thought. Kaiba should move immediately to get the blond's attention. He quickly called Kiyoko to discuss about Joey's schedule, and then when they agreed on a time and day, Kaiba hung up and then called Mokuba. He needed help since he's not creatively romantic. To be creatively romantic, one must not be so practical.

._._._.

A/n: So yeah, Gozaburo is back, and Noah is under his control. Joey can now make a real relationship with his Red eyes. Ryou and him broke up before graduation, and Kaiba's on his way for his booty. Jona's past death is revealed. Her and Kisara are half-sisters. Kisandra and Ryou are soul mates. And Joey wants to get married because he loves its symbolism and still believes in it despite his parents. Joey's dad is out of rehab! Yea!

So yeah, I covered a lot of ground on this one.

Now Seto is going to try to woo Joey into his arms! Look forward to next chapter! And I look forward to your reviews.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Seto's gonna make his move, so expect a long chapter of them going on a date! And there's some Mokuba sidestory. Love for the younger Kaiba!

._._._.

Mokuba was happy! Mokuba was giddily happy! He was-you get the point.

Mokuba was smiling so big in front of his big brother. The two were in Kaiba's home office where Seto was prepared to create his plan to properly seduce Joey!

The first thing Mokuba did when his brother told him his plan for Joey was jump into the air and screamed, "Yes! Fuck yes! Yes!"

Kaiba rose an eyebrow to this. He was partially sitting against his desk. "You wanted this to happen?"

"YEeEeEeS?!" Mokuba sang! "You have no idea of how much I wanted you to fall for Joey without me having to do anything and it paid off! And Joey likes you, too!"

Now that definitely surprised the CEO, but not for long. No one could resist him. Even for someone like Joey. A smirk plastered his face. He looked to the corner of the room with a hand below his chin. A complete show of smugness. "He does, does he."

"Hell yeah, he does! But I'm not sure why." Mokuba looked down with a face of contemplation. "The last time he tried to explain, he said something about just opening his heart, and he fell in love with you. Something weird like that."

Kaiba found that ridiculous, but he heard something similar from Joey about why he fell for Ryou. But unlike that albino, he was going to make sense of their potential relationship, and keep the blond!

"Whatever the case is, he'll be mine. That's why I called you here, Mokuba. You are the only person who knows Joey personally, and who I can stand in my presence. We both know that I am not romantically creative."

Mokuba prevented himself from snorting. Seto was the most unromantic man on Earth. If his little brother wasn't going to help him, then Seto would've just thought of a nice dinner at a nice restaurant. But that is such a cliche', and Joey and Kaiba already had a nice dinner at a nice restaurant, so they had to be creative! Seto Kaiba will not be stopped short of being considered a man. He will conquer this!

Although Mokuba questioned, "So you're asking me to plan a date for you? Why not just confess to Joey?"

"No. The mutt has the deluded notion that Kisandra and I are soulmates for whatever crazy antics that his friends had put him through. And if I make the first move, I may scare him off. I have to make him want me to the point that he can't resist me. That would be a challenge since the damn idiot is also completely dense."

There was no argument of Joey's obliviousness to romance that centered around him. "That's true. So the challenge is how to be subtle, but also very obvious in the same time." Mokuba concentrated hard to think up a plan. "Well, the problem is how to make Joey spend a lot of time with you before he has to go to Germany for the DDDM world tour which means you have to make Joey fall in love with you in less than a month."

"I discussed with Kiyoko on this matter. She had planned on Joey spending the entire month attending classes concentrated in improving his skills of performance and language. I decided to be his dance partner for his private dance lessons. My excuse is that I want to freshen up my skills."

Mokuba found that to be very clever. "Good. That's good. And he has freetime afterwards, right?"

"Yes. His dance lessons are two hours long, and set at four in the afternoon during Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Kiyoko will give him the rest of the night off, and his bedtime curfew is eleven at the latest. I was hoping that I could leave Kaiba corp in your capable hands, Mokuba. If you'll let me."

"You can count of me, big bro! Just don't screw up!" The younger Kaiba warned him. "So now that you have a reason to see him, we have to make up the plans for your date! And you don't have to worry about his friends bugging him since Yugi and Tea are leaving to New York on the first week after graduation. Ryou is moving to France on September, apparently, but he's going to busy painting and stuff. Kisandra is busy with her own business to take of. Duke has to prepare for the world tour, and Tristan is going through special training to become a professional bodyguard for him. So there's no way Joey could make any plans. If he makes friends, I'm sure we can count on Kiyoko to stop him from making plans with them."

"We discussed that as well, and she can make it possible. Now let's begin planning."

"Oh wait." Mokuba stopped him. "You're not going to your Senior prom? It's tomorrow night. Tickets are still being sold, and Joey's going. And surprisingly Kisandra is going with Ryou."

Kaiba didn't care for the last piece of information. He replied. "No. That is because my fangirls will be there, and they will most likely barricade me from him with their disgusting sobbing faces and annoying whining."

"I guess your right. I guess I'll have to go with him, after all."

"Excuse me?"

"Joey asked me to be his date for his senior prom."

Kaiba's face remained blank, but his younger brother knew that he was looking at him as if he had grown two extra heads. "Why would Joey ask you to senior prom?" He questioned, almost sounding envious. He loves his brother, but Mokuba was really crossing a line here. He was still unaware that they dated previously, and that Mokuba was in face Joey's first unofficial boyfriend, since they weren't dating for real.

Mokuba gave his brother a face of a motherfucker whose done someone wrong purposely. "Why are you asking? Don't tell me you're jealous, Seto!"

"Of course, I am not. You two are obviously going as friends."

"I don't know. I'm almost turning fourteen, and Joey might be eighteen now, but since it's not gonna be a sexual relationship until I'm like, oh, I don't know, sixteen which is the age of consent here in Domino. I don't know, Seto." He sucked in breath as if he scraped his elbow. "I might try taking my chances now."

Mokuba tried not to burst out laughing when his brother glared at him dangerously. Envy pooring into his blue eyes. "Mokuba...Tell me that you are joking with me right now."

"And if I'm not? I mean, Joey is an amazing guy! He knows how to fight, act, dance, sing, cook and have you seen those legs! And that butt! You've told me before that he has a big butt, and I gotta agree with you, big bro. I wouldn't mind dancing with him tomorrow night and holding his waist when it's time to slow dance. Also, I might accidentally slip my hand down. You know the game, Seto." Mokuba wiggled his eyebrows with a smug smile.

Seto glared at him silently for a few minutes, and then ordered, "Get the fuck out of my office."

Mokuba burst out laughing! He fell onto his knees, clutching his sides, and then fell onto his side. His body shaking and sides hurting. He tried to breathe, so sucked in air, but laughed it out immediately. He thought he was going to die!

Seto felt the urge to kick him, but he restrained his legs back. "Are you finished?"

Mokuba gasped for air loudly, and then took a few more big gulps of air to relax. His body his flushed red, and his head feels slightly dizzy. "Yeah." he sighed out. "I'm only kidding, Seto. Although Joey and I dated a few days after Noe and I broke up, but Joey broke up with me for Ryou." He finally confessed.

Kaiba's eyes went wide with shock and a slight bit of horror. So his former assumptions of their relationship was true! "You two did what?!"

"We dated." Mokuba got up nonchalantly. "We weren't actually dating. It was more of a pact, so we we didn't carelessly dated anyone. I did kinda fell for Joey, though, since he helped me through my breakup. But then I felt nothing when we kissed."

Seto was now completely horrified. "You kissed?!"

"Just a quick one. We didn't make out or anything." Mokuba remained calm which made Seto practically look hysterical.

The elder Kaiba was aware of this, so claimed back his calmness. Yet, his tone was awfully stern, "Is that all you two did?"

"Yeah, you kind of put him in a one week coma right after we agreed to date. Other than that, nothing from the usual. We didn't really kiss that much. Maybe I should kiss him tomorrow night."

"Don't you dare! Joey is mine!" Seto shouted childishly. Mokuba was more happy than scared to hear that.

"Whatever!" He said cheerfully. "Are you going to your Senior prom or not?"

Seto looked miffed at his younger brother. He sighed. "I'll arrive late just to have one slow dance with him, and then leave. That's all."

"Why just for a slow dance?" Mokuba understood that slow dances are romantic, but just for that one dance?

"You'll understand when you're older." The elder Kaiba teased. It was Mokuba's turn to glare at him which made him chuckle.

._._._.

"So this is what real boobs feel like." Joey was learning how to morph his body with the help of his Red eyes. Right now he was in an actual woman's body. He was standing naked in front of a mirror in his own bedroom.

His boobs were A's at the moment since he didn't want to fall face flat on the floor if his boobies were too heavy for him to handle. Jona's own were C's, and she was naked, too.

**"And you can feel pleasure from them, too. I should know since I had Pyrrhus turn me into a man, and I could impregnate a woman, but I preferred to shoot blanks."**

Joey had something else in his memory bank to throw into the bottom of the sea. Even if he could be female now, he preferred to stay male and have sex as one. Not because males are better, but because he was born gay, and was proud of that. His future husband should also be proud to be gay as well instead of looking for a shortcut, too.

He then giggled by an imagination. "Wouldn't it be funny if I went to Senior prom with these?!" He cupped his breasts. They were so soft, and he could spend a good hour massaging them while tweaking his soft nipples until he decides to make them a bit wet, cold and hard when he was in the mood.

Being curious of how women pleasured themselves, and whether their orgasm exist, he had his hands travel lower.

Having a pussy felt...It felt kind of hollow and alien-like which was natural. He knew he won't turn straight by a little masturbation so

"Hey, Joey I-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! GET THE FUCK OUT!" Joey threw his pillow at Tristan which did nothing to the super stunned face his best friend was pulling.

"Holy fuck, are you a girl?!"

Joey wrapped his body with his blanket. "Stop looking! I'm naked! Duke! Your boyfriend's lookin' at me!"

"No way! Let me see!" Duke rushed in to see Joey wrapped a blanket around him like a woman. "Oh c'mon! Let me see your boobs!"

"NO! RED EYES!" Joey's red eyes removed himself from his owner's body to be in his puppy-size form, and fire its fireballs. The two scrambled out.

Jona was laughing like thunder! Joey was red in the face, so went to quickly change. He forgot that he gave Tristan a key in case of emergencies. Now, he was rethinking about that second key.

The reason Tristan and Duke was here was because they planned to go together to Senior prom which was tonight. He had asked Mokuba to be his date since Ryou and him broke up. Incredibly, the future painter was able to invite Kisandra as a date. Kisandra was a bit reluctant, but Joey convinced her that the break up was mutual, and that he doesn't mind if they dated at all. Strange, but she accepted since she has never been to prom before. She had been asked out before, but none of the males were considered good enough for her unlike Ryou who was absolutely charming to her.

Now that Joey knew that Seto and Kisandra weren't meant for each other, but Ryou and her were, he was happy for them. Now he felt like a complete idiot for trying to push Seto to love her which is now never going to happen.

However, that sort of made Joey happy. Seto was available, and it would be nice if the blue-eyed hunk was interested in him romantically. But to actually date each other?

Joey wasn't prepared for that, yet. Love was as simple as someone made it, but he was afraid that Seto and him weren't meant to be, and the friendship he worked hard to keep would be shattered. He loved their friendship, so destroying that precious relationship over a possibility of being in love in the future wasn't worth it at the moment.

The amber-eyed duelist had his hair have volume and shine, put on some golden eye shadow, orange lipstick and other stuff on his face that made him look like he could be a sun goddess. It would fit for what he's about to wear.

He put on his dress and walked out on his golden heels. Everyone else was outside in their outfit. Tristan was wearing a green suit. Duke opted to wear a red one, but then didn't want them to look like a Christmas decoration so settled for a black one with a red vest. Yugi wore a purple one that matched his eyes. Mokuba wore a navy blue tux with a cute black bow.

Tea wore a midnight blue, high collar dress adorned with exquisite sparkling crystals as if she had taken the night sky above a wild rain forest, and sow it into her dress. She also had on long white gloves, and a cute crystal headband that Joey bought for her when they went shopping for dresses together.

Joey was the best looking out of all of them as expected of the actor. He wore a sleeveless, modern heart neckline, orange prom dress with a high-low hem skirt that just made him look like he was blazing on fire! On the back was a cute bow of his own.

"Wow." Mokuba had the biggest grin in the room. "This is so totally weird."

Joey happily rolled his eyes. "Red eyes chose the dress for me. He liked how bright it looked, and I agreed with him." His dragon was on his shoulder and squawked happily. "Time for you to get back in the card, buddy." His dragon nodded and turned into smoke that was sucked into his card.

Everyone got into the limo that Duke rented for the night except for Jona who decided to leave her reincarnation to his modern activities.

On the way, Joey said to Mokuba, "So Seto's not coming to Senior prom, huh."

"No." Mokuba tried not to smile. "Seto has the usual going on."

Duke leered at Joey, "Why are you asking, Joey? Don't tell me that you wanted to dance with Kaiba again like Halloween."

The blond went red on the face. He knew his friend was assuming something! "So what if I do?!"

Tristan chuckled, "You can't deny that they're something else, together. When can we expect you guys's wedding invitations?"

Joey glared at the engaged couple who laughed at him. Yugi, Tea and Mokuba snickered behind their hands. The blond growled at them all. "Kaiba and I aren't like that! Shut yer traps!"

"They're just kidding, Joey." Yugi said composedly. "So do we expect them two or three years from now after Duke's and Tristan's wedding?"

Everyone burst out laughing! Joey wanted to throw something at them, but he got nothing so he kept his hands clutching his seat.

He was happy when the limo finally got them to their destination. The gang went in and lined up for their senior prom photo. Tristan and Duke stood facing each other while facing sideways for the camera, and looking all suave together. For Tea and Yugi, Tea asked for a stool to sit on so the photo wouldn't be awkard by their height difference. She sat down slightly sideways like a lady, and had Yugi behind her with his hands on her shoulders. She placed her hand on one of his to hint at their intimacy. Joey jumped into Mokuba arms and smiled wildly for the camera. Luckily, they got it before Mokuba dropped the blond on the floor.

"Damn, you're heavy." Mokuba huffed for air. Joey playfully shoved him to the side when he bounced up. And then the six of them got into a group picture behind a golden picture frame.

After that, Joey was immediately surrounded by his fan club who pulled him onto the dance floor to dance with them. He pulled Mokuba into the dancefloor with him to not neglect his date. He danced for a good hour before moving to where the finger food and drinks were being served. He was then crowded by questions and compliments by his fanclub members. He politely replied and thanked them for it while trying to keep his eye on Mokuba since it was supposed to be their fun night together.

The twerp didn't seem to mind that he wasn't around since the preteen was surrounded by cute girls, and he looked like he really liked the attention. Joey then saw Kisandra and Ryou arriving. Ryou was dressed into a white, yellow and black tux. Kisandra wore a yellow prom dress to match with him. They looked so well together that Joey once again felt like a fool for believing that Seto and Kisandra were meant for each other.

Kisandra spotted him, and immediately hugged him. Joey's fanclub glanced at Ryou with a bit of hostility, but then when they saw how happy Joey was with Kisandra and didn't mind Ryou being with her, they let it go. Not that it really mattered.

Joey was having a blast now that almost all of his friends currently in Domino was here. He talked, laughed, danced, and enjoyed the food and drinks.

And then near the end of the night, it was time for the slow dance. Joey looked for Mokuba, but then saw that he was already in the arms of another person.

The blond didn't mind. He was tired of dancing, so was about to exit the dance floor, but then someone caught his hand and hip. "Whoa, buddy! Wai..." He became a lost for words when he looked up at who caught him.

He couldn't believe it. Thee Seto Kaiba was holding him for a slow dance. The antisocial male was wearing a baby blue suit with a celeste blue tie and white dress shirt. To an outsider, it was like fire was meeting with ice.

The CEO smirked smugly at his puppy's awed silence. "A meeting was cancelled, so I figured that I could swing on by to check on my favorite puppy." He smoothly lied. He was actually working on his laptop this whole time behind the DJ. He paid the staff and the DJ to keep quiet about his presence.

Joey figured that he was lying because the timing was too much of a coincidence, yet he hadn't seen Seto at all, so he had no choice but to believe him. He glared at the taller male. "Who said I was your puppy, moneybags?"

"Hn, so you agree that you are a puppy." Seto almost chuckled, but then Joey stepped on his foot hard. "Ugh!"

The actor innocently grinned, and then playfully pouted. "What's wrong? Did I accidentally step on you foot?"

Seto glared at him. "We both know that wasn't an accident, mutt."

"Whatever, fucktard."

The DJ then stopped the music to announce, "This is a request from a very generous young man." He the played the song "What am I to you?" by Norah Jones.

Joey thought the beat sounded familiar, and when the woman sang, he immediately remembered. He looked up at Seto with another awed silence. The brunet smirked satisfyingly at that expression.

The smooth Casanova pointed out, "The first song we slow danced to at the restaurant that you bought me to."

"Nightful Moon." Joey said distantly as he remembered that they argued for most of the night, but there was no real hostility in it. "I didn't know you knew the song."

"I happen to have an excellent memory, Joey. I did not know the song, but it wasn't hard to find it when I googled the lyrics that I remembered." Now that was the truth.

"Show off." Joey told him, but he couldn't help making a soft smile.

The two slow danced to the song with the same submersed feeling of them being the only people in the world, and when it ended, they snuck out of the place while the DJ was announcing of a popular band that was starting to play. A certain person was able to pay for them for the night in order to distract the crowd.

And so Kaiba lead Joey to the place's garden which was well lit and happened to have been improved in a single day by a certain CEO. He thought he did well considering, "Oh wow, this place looks awesome!" Joey cried out in his male voice! He went over to a bushel of orange flowers.

Kaiba found the sight fitting since not only did the flower's color matched Joey's outfit, but the symbolism as well: Passion and Enthusiasm. He went over to the bushel, pluck one orange rose out, and placed it over the blond's ear.

Joey was confused by the action. "What are you doing?" He continued to speak in his male voice which Kaiba didn't mind at all.

"The flower matched your dress. It's fitting."

Joey gave a mirthful frown. "That's how far I'm going to get you to admit I'm hot, huh."

"Graduation is only a week away. Don't tell me that you're finally admitting defeat. Now if only I can make you do the same about dueling."

"I'm not givin' up, ya jerk! And I happened to already know ya think I'm hot!" He pointed a finger up at him with a cute wink. "Kisandra already told me all about it."

Kaiba blinked with a momentary face of confusion. "She did what?"

"Yeah! She told me of how ya haf'de habit of sayin' I'm hot to yurself when ya dink she's n't listenin'! But she was, so yur jus' playin' chicken wit' me!"

Kaiba knew that Kisandra lied to him, but he could use that to his advantage. "Am I playing chicken with you, mutt? Or," he leaned his face in very close to his. Their breaths mingling as they breathed. "Do I simply love the way it drives you mad to get my approval? The way you started all of this just to play dress up model for me. Perhaps I love the attention you give me."

Joey felt his heart skip a beat and his face growing mildly hot. He stirred himself to remain friendly and ended up blurting, "Y'anno, if you were a flower, you'd be a blue rose!"

Kaiba was slightly bewildered by the change of subject. He pulled back, and then said as a matter of fact, "Blue roses don't exist."

Joey knew that. If he weren't wearing heals on gravel, he'd shuffle his feet. "Yeah, they don't, but in people's minds, they do. A person like you might had come from a nightmare, but people like you, Seto, are pretty rare. I mean ya can find plenty of orange roses like me around, but I don't think anyone can be as complicated as you." Joey then added as an afterthought, "And I bet if blue roses were to symbolize fer somethin', I think it would be somethin' like: complicated and also unparralleled."

"That doesn't sound whimsical like the other roses." Though Seto did like his puppy's chocies.

Joey defended, "It's not what I was meanin' ta give anyway cuz a lot of white flowers are being dyed blue. Don't think I'm a pansy fer knowin' what they symbolize cuz I read a book on it once since flowers have a lot of meaning. Ya don't wanna give a flower expert a bunch of flowers that give off the wrong message, or if ya really wanna be creative like Tristan, ya wanna give the right message. You would nevah believe of what sappy thing he did fer Duke to forgive him! He literally filled his office full of flowers that symbolize a lot of love and stuff, but mostly white tulips which happens ta mean forgiveness." The blond had a huge grin on his face. It was still pretty fun til now!

Kaiba didn't really care for what Tristan did, but he had to admit to himself that that was incredibly sappy. But he wondered if Joey would like that. "What if someone did that for you, Joey? Fill your own room with flowers that beg for love and forgiveness."

The blond snorted, "Damn, I'd laugh just like Duke did when he saw them! It'd be sweet, but that's not me. After datin' Ryou, I realized that I'm not into really romantic things like having long walks on a beach or those hot airballoons date. It's nice, but I prefer ta have like, uhm, what we did. The nice dinner at Nightful moon, and the fun day we had with Mokuba on the beach. There's none of that forced romance in it."

Kaiba nodded, and was confirmed that Joey was meant to be his.

Then Joey decided to apologize, "Hey, sorry about preachin' ta ya about bein' soul mates with Kisandra."

Kaiba so did not want to get into this conversation, but then played along for civility. "Don't bother thinking that you were being successful in your efforts, Wheeler. I knew from the start that that woman and I would never become anything more than business partners."

Joey truly wondered of whether this lack of love was influenced by his past incarnation's heartbroken hostility against Kisara for her betrayal. Either way, it wasn't really any of his business despite how curious he was. "Good to know you two will remain friends." He sarcastically said, and then genuinely questioned, "So are you two still getting married?"

Kaiba thought about it for a split moment. "We're under contract to go through with it, and I hate to say that within the contract, I explicitly added that even if we do find potential long-term lovers, we will still be under obligation to go through the marriage, and that our potential longer-term lover will have to either adapt or leave."

"Oh...Well, I guess Ryou's going to hafta adapt if he wants ta stay with Kisandra." Joey felt obligated to feel sympathy for Ryou, but he did not know whether it was necessary since he wasn't sure of where his friend stood on the issue of marriage.

Kaiba nonchalantly asked, "What about you, Joey? Do you plan to get involved with marriage despite how overrated it is?"

"Yeah, I do." Joey didn't hesitate to answer. Kaiba's eyes slightly widened by the firm tone, and the clarified conviction to follow. "I get that you'd think that marriage is overrated, but I do want to get married. Not to prove that I can be better than my parents, but because I wanna wear our wedding ring. Don't think I'm a gold digger because I don't care about how much it cost, how plain it'll look like, or that we're jus' gonna fuckin' elope ta vegas. I wanna wear dat weddin' ring because it'll be a sign of our love dat I'll proudly show, n' de only way ta get it off my own damn finger is to cut it off. But if I can still get a grasp of my ring, then I'll just put it on my right ring finger or on my middle finger."

Kaiba frowned at the grotesque description, but he sympathized with what Joey meant. It would take someone cutting his neck clean off to get his neckace that contained the photo of Mokuba. Yet, he was now mortified about the choices he made on the contract. Of course, it was before he ever fathomed of ever being in love, but now he wanted to make a time machine to change the contract. Yet, that was impractical, and he had to man up to his mistakes in the present and future.

Although, Kaiba thought quickly of a solution, and then asked, "Does it necessarily have to be a wedding ring?" Joey blinked at him. He clarified, "You said it yourself that you don't necessarily care for anything else than the ring. A promise ring should suffice for you, then."

Joey thought it was weird that Kaiba asked that question, but then figured it was to keep a conversation going between them for cordialities. He thought on an answer, and then replied, "I guess it would do. But I prefer a wedding ring. I mean, what would keep me and who could be the love of my life from marrying?" He lightly laughed at the idiotic idea.

_A contract that binds me to marry Kisandra under any circumstances. _Kaiba cruelly thought to himself. He wanted to hang the part of himself that thought up that part of the contract. He wanted Joey, but if the blond couldn't be satisfied with a promise ring that'll promise them a love and sex-filled future, then his attempts could be useless.

Kaiba tried to think up a tactic to smoothly convince the blond out of the idea of marriage. "But think of it, mutt." He cursed himself for insulting his lover-to-be since he was trying to convince the blond! Not get into an argument! He knew if he didn't insult him, he may be sliding out of his natural character, but then his future lover is an idiot, so he shouldn't bother worrying of what Joey may find off if it went nicely.

He then continued, "What if the person you married will be someone you will end up divorcing because he may have done something wrong to you. You know it will end messy when you file for divorce. With a promise ring and a normal relationship, the breakup won't be as messy as a divorce since you can simply move out of his life unlike a divorce where you will still have to see his stupid face, and he may not even sign the papers out of stupidity and ignorance."

Joey thought that Kaiba made a good point, but he had his beliefs. "Maybe yer right, Seto. Don'tcallme,mutt. But I want my man to know that I want us to be faithful and whatever else is expected in a marriage, and make that clear by marriage, y'anno. I have expectations, and marriage pretty much sums it up."

_Fuck._

Kaiba calmed himself. "Then don't date an idiot who won't know the expectations of marriage, and marriage doesn't exactly mean he'll follow through."

Joey knew that was true, but he wanted to get married, dammit! "Why are you so against marriage for love? Jus' cuz it's not going to be under contract like you n' Kisandra, doesn't mean I'm gonna be stupid n' pick an idiot. And if we're gonna get divorce, then I'm gonna hate every second of going through it, but I'll have dat motherfucker sign the papers even if it meant beatin' his ass fer whatever fucked up thing he could ever do to fuck up our marriage!"

Kaiba gave a single condescending, "Ha."

"What was that, moneybags?!" Joey was feeling hostile at the moment.

The CEO could work with that. He smirked, "You are such a romantic."

"What's wrong with that?" The two found a gazebo where they took a seat next to each other. Kaiba's hand accidently felt the chill of his puppy's upperarm. The night was pretty cold, so he removed his suit's jacket, and placed it over the blond's back.

Joey looked at him with a confused expression. Kaiba clarified that he felt cold. The honey-eyed duelist did feel kind of chilly, and it was rare to see this gentleman side of the CEO, so thanked him.

"Thanks, Seto. So you can be a gentleman." The blond teased.

Kaiba snorted, "You're the only person I'll give my jacket to, so be grateful."

Joey rolled his eyes, and then smiled like an island's sunshine, "Special treatment from the great CEO of Kaiba corp. huh? I feel like royalty."

"I'd treat you like a queen." Kaiba said nonchalantly, but it was a blurt to the CEO.

Joey snorted, "I guess you'd treat me like an actual queen. The great King Seto will have to be busy with taking care of a kingdom with an ironfist while his queen is being the merciful one who will warm up the king's icy heart at night when they embrace each other on their feather soft bed. The queen of course has her own duties to attend to, but the most important one is to keep the king from going mad, and woman up to the loneliness her heart will feel when the king has to spend the night doing work, and she has to stick with staying on a cold, lonely, irritatingly feather-soft bed with maybe a dress shirt that contains his scent to get her some sleep. But she's never truly satisfied until her king is back on the bed with her."

Seto just wanted to kiss Joey. They were so ready to be together after graduation and before the world tour. The brunet instead added, "But the king will also feel lonely during his work. I bet he would rather be on the feather-soft bed with his queen, but those stupid villagers need him to keep the company upright if thousands of people want to make a living and survive in this cruel world."

Joey knew that was true. "The weight of the world practically thrown upon his shoulder. But the problem is that he chose to take that weight on himself. He deserves no pity."

"I doubt the king would want any."

"And that's the sad part." Joey sadly smiled.

Kaiba rose an eyebrow as his lips parted. "Why?"

"Because the queen knows while she's laying on that feather-soft bed that hardens beneath her that her husband doesn't care about how it truly effects her. If the king does not want pity, then he does not pity her. The queen may be strong and independent, and she doesn't want to be pitied either, but where's love without a little bit of pity so we could have a little bit of sympathy and care." Joey said this distantly. As if he had been holding onto this philosophy in his head for years, and only now did he speak it.

Seto was astounded by his in depth thought of love. "You're smarter than you led on, Joey."

Joey shrugged, "I guess I just hafta stop doubting myself. I guess that's the real reason why I don't do so good at school. At work, people depend on me. They have faith that I can do the work if they employ me, but at school, everyone looks down on my smarts. Even my own friends. And if they believe that, then why shouldn't I?"

Seto felt guilt in his heart. He shamefully thought of the blond as a true idiot who was only lucky. He could be justified for his thoughts, but to know that such a person like Joey was looked down upon, it angered him. Now that Joey was to be his lover, he wanted to change that.

He held Joey's hand. The blond looked at him with those beautiful amber eyes. Seto felt his lips tingle for a kiss. He didn't know that Joey felt the same. His eyes looked down at the male softly with his line of sight solely concentrated on him. He spoke, "I should be the last person to say this, and don't think I'm comforting you or any of those pleasantries bullshit. You're a man, and I'll treat you as one. You were stupid to think that you needed to believe this whole entire time that because a bunch of other idiots thought you were stupid, you were stupid. You didn't have to believe them! You surely haven't read an Isaac Asimov essay on 'What is Intelligence, Anyway?' have you?"

"Yeah, I did, but I don't see-"

"The point is that you shouldn't have stopped yourself short, idiot. You certainly didn't have to get through some test to get into trigonometry class if you had believed in yourself in the first place. Knowing that it takes a little bit of faith to get you to become great, I want to give you a little bit of my faith to you, if I have any since I quote on quote 'You damn robot, bastard' is what you compare me, too."

Joey mirthfully and reluctantly tearfully smiled. It meant a lot that Kaiba gave him a little faith. It meant a lot from a guy like him. "I guess we were both being idiots because you're more like a cyborg." He lightly laughed.

Kaiba didn't. He simply kept giving him this soft, and could-be-loving look. Joey's laugh faded away as the two continued to gaze at each other. Their lips questing to have their thirst be quenched. Kaiba leaned forward. Joey felt fear and panic in his chest, but he didn't move.

Seto was so close to his lips. Their eyes never leaving each other. Joey was slowly closing his eyelids without a single fleeting thought to have him stop this. Jona was nowhere around, his friends were dancing to the popular band inside, and red eyes was safely in his card. Nothing could possibly interrupt this moment of his vulnerability for a simple kiss.

Seto wanted to kiss him so badly, but that wouldn't be tactful. Joey might not be thinking straight, and he didn't want to screw it up, so he settled for a kiss on the forehead.

Joey opened his eyes with a confused expression, but was also glad by this. "What's that kiss for?"

"I simply wanted to do it." Seto knew that was a pathetic excuse.

However, Joey found that excuse to be good enough at the moment. "Then I want to give you one to." He kissed his cheek. They both shivered inside. Although for Seto, it was not a good shiver. He liked the kiss on the cheek, but he could feel his trained mind trying to revolt against this. Gozaburo taught him that love didn't exist. It was just an idea to give idiots an excuse to waste time and do stupid things. But a strange part of him wanted to revolt against his trained mind. He loved Joey. Gawd, did he want to love him.

The two faced away from each other for a moment in silence to collect themselves. And then Joey decided to ask, "So, what do you plan to do after graduation? Other than the obvious?"

"What do you mean?" What more would Seto do then work, raise Mokuba and get through pretending to be in love with Kisandra for the public. He did consider getting a Ph.D. or something like that when he had the time.

Joey clarified, "I mean...are you seriously going to do the obvious only?"

Kaiba did have plans to try to make Joey his, and that would be added in what would happen after graduation, but this was not the right time to confess. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Nope." The blond blankly replied, and then asked, "So no long-term lover for you? It feels kinda like Kisandra is getting all the goodies out of this than you are."

The CEO agreed, but then Kisandra's part was a puzzle piece to bringing his corporation to even higher heights of success. "Now don't be surprised, loser, but I do plan on having a long term lover, but he happens to be a hopeless guy."

Joey almost had himself jump back in shock. "What?! No way! You're bi now?!"

Kaiba scoffed. "I prefer the term pansexual since it is only him of our gender who I would appreciate to have by my bedside."

Joey cocked his head to the side with furrowed brows. "So a sex buddy?"

Kaiba turned his head towards Joey to see his big, innocent eyes. His irises slightly glimmering by the lights of the garden. It was a hell of an overwhelming sight, but Seto steeled himself to calmly reply, "He's convinced me that it could be more than that."

_"More? Like love? So someone has finally gotten under his attitude."_

"He must be an incredible guy to make you think that." Joey felt happy for Kaiba, but envious of this mysterious guy. "Who is he?"

Kaiba snorted, "Sorry, pup, but I can't tell you that. Someone may suddenly hear his name come out of my mouth, and it will pour into the media which could drop my stocks since a sum of them are traditional."

Joey found that reasonable. "Okay, but at least tell me what he looks like, what he does, what kind of person he is, and how did you two meet."

Kaiba burst out laughing without a care of who heard him. Joey shouted at him to stop laughing so he could tell him! Eventually, Seto's eyes were on the palm of his hands as he tried to center himself. He breathed, sat back with his arms and legs cross, and then spoke as if he had just not laughed his lungs away. "Have the female species truly corrupted your mind into a gossip, Joey?" He chuckled, "Because I cannot believe that a guy would be that specific with their questions on my love life."

"So what if I did?!" Joey felt somewhat insulted and blushed embarrassingly. He must admit to himself that he was a little too detailed with his question. "Just answer me already!"

"Why?" The brunet was intrigued by how his puppy was acting.

"Because I'm curious, and maybe I know him! I know a lot of people! Or is this guy rich?" Joey had a list of names and faces in his head.

Kaiba decided to play along with this game of testing the blond' obliviousness. He helpfully replied, "He's considered middle class."

Joey brightened, "Then I may know him! Okay, so how does he look like?"

"Blond hair. Brown eyes. Tan."

"Alright. What does he do?"

"He's an amateur actor, and duelist. He also plays a part in campaigns to support under privileged people." Kaiba smirked as the blond was thinking hard of the people he knew who could be all that. The brunet felt a hidden glee inside him.

"Okay, I don't know that many amateur actors like that, but I'm sure that I'm gonna meet him at some point!" Joey was so determined to meet this mysterious blond, brown-eyed, tan actor-slash-duelist who sounds like an incredible person! "What kind of person is he now, and how did you two meet?"

Seto thought of that first day that they met in the Kame Game shop. Joey meant nothing to him, but he couldn't deny that he, himself felt something fun about the blond when he spoke to him unlike everyone else. The blond was like a good joke that never gets old. "We didn't meet on good terms at first."

"Do you ever meet someone new on good terms other than business meetings?" Joey rhetorically questioned.

Kaiba ignored him, and continued, "He was a beginning duelist when I met him, and I didn't want anything to do with him, but sadly or not, fate had us meet again and again outside of my business. He became close friends with Mokuba - he's around our age - and at some point, I couldn't deny my undeniable lust for him which eventually turned into a new type of desire for myself."

"Close friends with Mokuba?..." Joey put on his thinking cap. His eyes slightly narrowed as he thought hard. "Y'anno, he kinda sounds like me."

Seto kept a straight face, "What are you talking about, Joey?"

"Well when ya think of it, I have blond hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. I also happened to be an actor and a duelist who goes on campaigns for underpriviledged people. We also didn't meet on good terms, and I'm close friends with Mokuba...It's such a strange coincidence! Don't ya think?"

Seto smirked, blue eyes glittering, and posture relaxed. Oh poor, sweet oblivious Joey Wheeler. "Now that you think of it, it is strange. If I was to be reciprocated by this man, then it would be like dating you. Wouldn't it?"

Joey lightly blushed with a sheepish smile. "What're ya talkin' about moneybags?!" He lightly smacked the taller teen's arm. "Us datin'?! That's crazy!"

"How is that crazy, if you don't mind my asking?" Kaiba really wanted to know what was in that blond head of his.

Joey restrained from blushing even more. He looked away with a side glance to nothing particular. "Uhm, well, it's not that I find us completely incompatible, but I don't wanna risk our friendship." He found his resolve to sit back with his hands on his lap. A look of deep thought on his face as he stared down at his bright orange skirt. "Datin' is as complicated as ya make it, but I don't wanna make this complicated between us. I like bein' friends with you." Joey felt embarrassed for saying that, but he kept with his resolve.

Seto didn't like that answer at all. But it was no pressure. He still had his chances. "But what if I'm not satisfied with us just being friends, Wheeler?"

That took Joey aback. Seto made him feel like he must answer, so he sputtered, "Oh, uhm, well," Joey glanced at him and then back at his skirt. He didn't understand of why Kaiba just asked that question. He thought of an answer but he didn't want to assume anything! "Are you askin' me personally, or just in general?"

_"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I don't even understand of what I asked!"_

Joey wanted to hide in a hole for his stupidity. Yet, Seto seemed to take his question into consideration. The stoic male replied, "You personally. If you and the man I want is the same, then it's sensible to have your true opinion, Joey."

"O-okay." Joey made an awkward frown as he tried to gather his thoughts to form a true opinion. "I guess if you would want a relationship, I wanna talk about it first because of your marriage with Kisandra, your work, what's our boundaries and stuff like that y'anno, cuz I wanna know and make sure that we're serious and we're not headin' fer disaster."

Kaiba was thinking the same thing if they were to start becoming a couple. He already had written down a list of things that his puppy had to abide by.

Joey yawned. He stretched his arms up and out. "Boy, am I tired! All of that dancing! But I don't think I'll sleep once I hit the hay since I drank n' ate so much sugar!" He yawned again. "The gang and I plan on having a party at Duke's place on our last school days off. Mokuba's gonna be there."

"Hn. I hate parties."

"Figures." Joey yawned again. It almost made Seto yawn this time. The blond stood up with Seto's jacket still around him. "I bedder g't home before I become a flower myself." The brunet stood up, and the two of them walked back into the place. Seto offered to drop him and Mokuba home, so Joey went in to get Mokuba, and then tell his friends that the two are going now.

The three of them entered the limo. Joey asked Mokuba of how did he like the attention of the teenage girls. They kid around while Seto was listening in the background. Mokuba gave his older brother a wide smirk, and when Joey finally got home safely, he exploded, "So how was it?!"

Seto chuckled and ruffled his hair. "It went alright. I discovered that there will be some complications that I will have to work on to win Joey's favor."

"Like what?"

"Three conflicts: One, Joey prefers to be married."

"Uh huh."

"Two, Joey fears that being in a more intimate relationship could ruin our friendship if we do not get along in the future events."

"Makes sense."

"Finally three, we have to rethink our dating plans because it so turns out that Joey isn't the romantic type. We need to stick to more simple types of dates that does not force the ideals of romanticism."

"On it!"

._._._.

Noe Kaima/Noah Kaiba was aware that her father had gone borderline insane after losing to Seto twice. She stood upon the rubble of Alcatraz, the island of where the Battle City finals had taken place before. The blue skies and bright sunshine mocked her depressing circumstances where she had to stand beside the man who stole the body from a family man who was supposed to go home after taking a trip to the party store since he needed balloons to complete the party for his baby daughter.

Noe felt repulsed and shuddered in disgust everytime the man dared to be in her line of sight. She felt her stomach churn, chest burn, and throat expanding to vomit the virus in her body since the man was a contagious disease. Yet, she steeled herself for the sake of her pointless life.

Her father wasn't hideous in the bit. No, the man's body was still in his twenties with black hair swept back, earthly green eyes that's been hardened by his father's pitch black soul, and a strong jaw that could've held a kind smile, but all it held was his father's disappointed scowl or sinister smirk. If her father had the the tiniest bit of humanity in him, then he could've been more dangerous than he was now if he could give a single kind smile to her.

For now, she was safe.

"Why are we here, father?" She blankly said. The word "father" was synonymous to "slave master" to her.

"Patience, Noah." Gozaburo chided. His tone was stern and deadly, but his voice sounded like a man who had never smoked a cigar. Noe ironically loved to hear his father to speak. It was as if there were still hope that the man who used to own this body was still within him.

Noe waited like she was told for a few minutes. She was willing to wait for the whole day since it gave her a moment of peace, but then her serenity was disrupted by a sudden earthquake. She fell down as the ground began to split apart.

"What's happening?!" She demanded for an answer, yet none came for her as something metallic came to her view. She gasped when it had erected to its tall glory.

Gozaburo roared with laughter. "Look at it, Noah! I spent months rebuilding the tower that Seto thought he could rid of forever to rid of me, but it's back! Hahahahaha!"

"Why?!" Noah cried out, finding her footing ont he ground. "What are you planning, father? Why this tower?!"

"Shut up!" He barked. Noe stepped back out of fear. Her father growled, "Of course a half-wit like you could never understand that this tower symbolizes my rebirth to immortality! Again and again I will rise like the pheonix! Hahahaha!" He distorted the handsome young face to match his spiralling dark soul. His arms raised to the sky as if trying to hold it under him. "When that damn step-son of mine, Seto Kaiba, plans for the second battle city, I will be there to create total and utter chaos which will finally have him collapse under my soul-crushing defeat! Hahahahaha! And you're the key, Noah! I know that you will never betray me, so be a good daughter, and let us prepare for dooms day!"

Noe was to scared to speak. How did her father know that Kaiba planned to have a second battle city? Or is he playing a game of chance and will wait a hundred years til it became real? How long will Noe have to live in immortality with him? Until the day that will never come arrive? Will she be within different, younger cloned bodies of her, or will she have to share the same fate as her father and steal the bodies of others?

Complete and utter horror donned onto her.

She didn't want this! She didn't want any of this! But she had no choice but to follow since she was powerless. She wanted to scream and cry for someone! For Mokuba, but even he must've forgotten about her now!

She fell to her knees onto the ground. Tears falling from her eyes when the weight of her doomed fate rested on her back. No one was going to save her. Not when she was nothing to anyone.

She cried and cried while her father laughed and laughed.

._._._.

Mokuba stared out the window next to his bed with a face of worry. "...Noe." He whispered. He never forgotten about her.

He hoped that one day, they will meet again, and still have a chance to patch things up. He still wanted to love her, hold her, and make her happy. He even still had a picture of her hidden under his bed, and instructed the maids to not throw it away if they were to find a picture there.

The picture showed Noe smiling happily with the sight of the city behind her. It was taken on the hot air balloon they rode. She loved the date since she loved looking down at all the stupid, ant-looking people below her. It made her feel goddess-like. It just made her so happy to be up above the world that she gave a rare, care-free smile for the camera. She was quite camera shy if she was being taken by surprised. She had to get herself pretty before any pictures were allowed.

Mokuba chuckled at the memory. Yet, his frown deepened when the feel of loss settled low on his being.

He looked down at his laptop that displayed a map of where his relative lived. He knew that in order to get to his dragon toys, he needed to talk to this person who betrayed him. He thought bitterly, but the feeling in his chest wasn't the same. What he felt in his heart was grief.

He remembered that Jona advised him to visit his parents' graves to overcome that grief, but then he couldn't. He just couldn't.

A knock came from the door. "Momo?" Joey questioned behind the door. "Time to go!" The blond opened the door with a beautiful, bright grin on his face.

Mokuba's mood immediately uplifted at the sight of the kind, caring teen. "I'm coming!" He closed his laptop, and followed the blond out of his room to Duke's place.

His older brother was busy working at his office and around his building while also having a lunch date with Kisandra for publicity. Strangely, the date was a lot more tolerable to go through. Now that Joey no longer thought that they should be a couple, Seto found Kisandra to be mildly charming that their small personal discussions didn't irritate him. Kisandra liked to talk about Ryou which Kaiba ignored, but then his ears would perk up at the sound of Joey's name. Yet, he would become irritated when she threatened to win the blue eyes white dragon eventually.

After the lunch date, it became late afternoon. Seto Kaiba was now running on the treadmill in his office since it was required that he remained active in order to remain physically healthy. He was wearing a sleeveless, blue t-shirt with loose pants and running shoes. His suit was currently hung at the coat hanger.

The door to his office opened to reveal Mokuba who had just returned from the party. Seto stopped the treadmill, grabbed a towel from his table to wipe the sweat off of him. "How was the party?" he questioned breathlessly before gulping down water.

"It was good. Joey had big news for us." Mokuba had a strange smile on his face that Seto didn't notice as he was stripping himself from his t-shirt. No one but Mokuba saw his bare torso, and there was a definite reason for that. The sight made his little brother cringed despite having seen it many times before.

"And what big news does my puppy have?" Seto took another gulp of his water.

"He's pregnant."

Kaiba choked on his water. He dropped his water bottle, hunched forward as he was thrown into a coughing fit, and a mental panic of this news. Mokuba laughed at his misfortune. He safely landed on the couch in front of his desk.

Seto eventually got himself to stop coughing, and then as his mind was reeling about Joey's pregnancy, it stopped when a fact hit him home. He glared at his grinning little brother. "Joey can't get pregnant." He growled matter-of-factly.

Mokuba giggled. "You had the same reaction as everyone else! We were all having a drinking milkshake contest to see who would be the last to get a brain freeze, and for some reason, Joey didn't want to join. And then as we were all drinking our milkshake, he threw that bomb on us! Milk squirted out of Yugi's nose, and Tristan was the most mad! He literally had everything planned to make the pregnancy go smoothly until it also hit him that Joey can't get pregnant! It was hysterical!"

Seto glared harshly at his giggling little brother. "You're grounded."

Mokuba stopped smiling. "It's was just a joke, Seto! Gosh!" He whined!

"A joke that I do not take kindly." He spoke as he took out a remote that will move his bookcase to the side to reveal a shower room. "I do not want to hear that my future bedmate had been impregnated by a man that I will forever hate and forever be placed in my list of people whom I have assassinated if I ever become absent without official leave (awol)."

Mokuba rolled his eyes while his brother entered the shower room. The water spray turned on when it detected Kaiba's heat signature in close proximity. The younger Kaiba pointed out loudly to be heard over the water spray, "Then it's a good thing he's a guy, right."

"One of the few perks of having a male lover. Was that the only highlight of the party?"

"Yugi and Joey dueled. Joey really got better. Yugi's awesome like usual, but Joey's dueling strategy kind of changed."

This interested the elder Kaiba. "How?"

"He's a lot more cunning now. He got a lot better at setting trap cards, and summoning strong monsters without caution. Yugi won in the end, but it was a pretty intense battle." Mokuba figured that it must've been thanks to Jona. She did lead armies and won wars.

"Hn. I'll believe that when I see it with my own eyes." Seto stepped to the side to apply shampoo, and then take another shower before applying conditioner.

"Why don't you duel Joey, big brother? It's been a while." The two of them hadn't dueled since Battle city. It's been over a year since.

Kaiba considered it. He wanted to experience what Mokuba witnessed, but he wanted to be a grand spectacle. He hadn't dueled Yugi for over a year as well. His desire to be the number one best duelist to be slightly somber compared to his passion the year before. Yet, if he did have the chance, he was sure that that passion will roar like thunder again. Perhaps he should consider creating a new event. He finished Kaibaland so he's allowed to duel once again.

He stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had another towel to dry his his hair, and then lie lazily on his shoulders. His secretary already called for his usual hairdresser to fix his hair. He needed a good trim.

He took out a folded dressing screen from a closet in his office, so he could dress himself into his suit. He finally replied to his brother, "I'll consider it."

Mokuba knew that was the end of that conversation. That left a moment of silence between them. The black haired pre-teen did want to talk about making a certain visit, but then he knew Seto would never approve.

All of the sudden the window of the office fogged up, and someone was writing on it. It stated, **"You should talk about it. -Jona"** A whipe and then a fog. The next statement was **"You have to take a stand for yourself."**

Mokuba found it kind of weird. What was Jona doing here?

**"I knew you'd tell him Joey's joke. Funny reaction."**

Is she reading his mind?

**"No mind reading. You're very expressive."** She then stated, **"It will not go smoothly but try. I believe in you."**

Mokuba nodded. Jona made the fog disappear before Seto put the dressing screen away. "Uhm Seto, I wanna talk to you about something...serious."

The elder kaiba did not expect this, but he will take Mokuba serious. He took a seat at the end of the couch to give his younger brother some space. "Alright. What do you wish to discuss, little brother?"

Mokuba took a deep breath in through his nostrils, and then answered, "I want to visit our parents' graves."

A silent car crash hit between them. Mokuba caused it on purpose which left Seto stupefied now. Seto's face hardened. "No."

"No?"

"You will not visit their graves." Seto said clearly with a tone that there was absolutely no room for discussion.

Mokuba felt like he should follow, but then he remembered that Jona and Joey were rooting for him. He can't be oppressed!

"I understand that you don't want to Seto, but I want to visit their graves."

"Didn't you hear me?"

"I did! But-"

"Enough!" Seto stood up and walked to his desk to farther their distance so his brother could see his full intimidating form. "We already discussed this Mokuba! There is no reason to visit their graves!"

"Yes there is!" Mokuba abruptly stood up. He believed that he saw his brother take a step back. "I want to see my real parents! I want to be able to forgive them for leaving us, and I can't do that unless I face them!"

"What are you talking about Mokuba?! They're dead! The dead can't hear you forgive them, or apologize either! They're dead, and that's it! That's the end! I thought we agreed to leave the past behind!"

"Maybe we did, but I have to break that agreement! I am going to visit our parents' graves and you cannot stop me!"

"Mokuba!" Seto paused. He saw that his brother was not backing down, but neither was he. He glared fiercely as if he was about to reveal that he was evil incarnate. "Mokuba," He said dangerously calmly, "Why in the world would you want to forgive them now? Don't tell me that Wheeler has something to do with this?"

"No." Mokuba lied. He didn't want to, but he didn't want Joey to get in trouble for his selfishness. "It's just...I have a clue of where our old dragon toys could be-"

"You got to be kidding me." Seto said exasperatedly.

Mokuba glared at him. He's not going to be taken lightly! This meant a lot to him! "This is not some joke, Seto! But you'd never understand!" He had enough. He walked away. Seto demanded that he did not, but he slammed the door behind him where the office practically shook by his tenacity.

Seto sighed out exhaustedly. Once again, they argued. He needed to get a book of how to raise teenagers.

Mokuba sat at his own office where one of the windows fogged up. **"Good job."** There was a drawned thumbs up added to it.

Mokuba cupped his chin with an exasperated expression. "Are you sure? We didn't exactly talked things through."

**"But you issued the problem. Now you don't have what ifs."**

Mokuba considered that. It was true. He felt pretty good about at least talking about it. Now, it was a matter of what will happen next. He didn't want to plan it now, so would leave it up to fate or coincidence for now.

._._._.

"Is something wrong, Seto?" Joey questioned during graduation. The two sat side by side in the auditorium. Seto sat at the edge of his row since he prefered it to be that way.

Luckily, despite being the valedictorian, he didn't have to do a speech. Instead it was left of to some pointless person doing a pointless speech that was played off to be inspirational, but was just a waste of time for the brunet. The only bright side was sitting next to Joey.

"Mokuba and I got into another argument. He refused to talk to me since." It hurt the older brother. He was hoping that he could patch things up with Mokuba during breakfast or even during work, but his brother was avoiding him like the plague. He didn't bother attending the graduation ceremony. However, he didn't plan on inviting his little brother since the brunet was doing this just to deliver proof that he had successfully completed High school to the end like the perfectionist he was.

Joey didn't know of what the argument could be about, but then he wasn't one to pry. It was best to leave this between them. One of them must be bound to give in and apologize at some point. "You two will patch things up, soon."

Seto desired to believe that, but he wasn't hopeful. "As sure as I have always been, I'm not so sure about now. What we argued about was a topic that is none of your business, Wheeler."

"And I'm not going to mind it." Joey said lightly to not sound offensive. "But Mokuba loves you, so it's not all bad." He told him reassuringly.

That actually helped Seto feel a bit relaxed. Mokuba did love him. At least, he hoped since his little brother had told him that he's growing up, and realizing of how much of a dick his older brother actually was.

Joey seemed to sense Seto's disbelief, so added, "You could just apologize first."

Seto frowned. He loved his brother, but he felt like he shouldn't be the one to apologize. He even doubted that an apology was any good. "An apology won't fix this."

"It's a start." Joey gave him a smile and a shrug.

Kaiba sighed. He guessed Wheeler was right. The blond did know how to be more loving than he did considering that he actually had friends, and a sister who still loved him despite being separate for six years. The two were practically strangers, but their love still rung true. Seto enviously wished it was the same between him and Mokuba. He wished that despite how busy he was, they could love each other the same.

He knew people loved differently, and he didn't know Joey's relationship with Serenity in depth, but he still wished Mokuba and him could love each other without that awkward feel that this love was more out of obligation than actual care.

He didn't understand of why Mokuba now wanted to see their parents' graves and what does finding their dragon toys had to do with that. Perhaps, Joey knew.

Right now, seemed like a perfect time to ask since the speeches still had an hour to go. "Wheeler, I am about to tell you about what the argument between Mokuba and I were about because I would like to have your best opinion about this matter. Yet, you have to swear on your own sister's life that you will not peep a word of what this to anyone." he whispered for only him to hear.

Joey thought the argument must've been crucial if Seto dared to make him swear under his own beloved sister's life. Yet, that meant that Seto trusted him the most at the moment, and he would value that trust. He whispered back, "I swear on my sister's life, and I'll try my best to give you my best opinion, man."

Seto trusted the blond. "Mokuba wants to visit our biological parents' graves." Joey's eyes widened to saucers at this. Kaiba immediately read the expression as not on of complete surprise, but a surprise with a hint of realization. The blue-eyed duelist narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You had nothing to do with convincing my dear brother to visit their graves did you."

"No!" Joey hissed in a whisper, yet he realized that that meant that he had to talk about Jona, but then that would complicate everything, so he fibbed. "Uhm, well, I might have."

"You might have?"

Joey defended, "Mokuba wants to visit his parents' graves to learn how to forgive since he can't figure out where those toys are unless he talks to a relative of yours."

That last part was news to Seto, though he knew he did cut off Mokuba during their argument so had no one but himself to blame. He ignored it for now to focus on the first part of that statement. "How does visiting our parents' grave have anything to do with learning how to forgive?!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"It has everything to do with it! He told me how your parents died. It's tragic, n' I get that you're angry, n' maybe Mokuba's angry, too, which is why he hasn't done it yet. But you can't keep being angry at the past."

"We moved on." Seto claimed.

"Or moved around it." Joey retorted.

The two were met each other with a heated glare. Jona sighed. She was also bored by the ceremony's rituals so decided to interject into this discussion. She took control of the body which Seto noticed.

"Kaiba, please refrain from blaming me for what Mokuba chose to believe in."

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Don't change into a different character around me!"

"I don't-"

"Don't play games with me!" Seto will have none of this! He wanted to talk to Joey! His Joey! Fuck his logic! This wasn't Joey!

_"I'm not playing games with you, richboy!"_

Jona was silent as she stared at the slightly flustered, angry male. She crossed her arms, and then said, "Alright, I'm not Joey. I'm a split personality of his. Hello, my name is Jona." Kaiba felt deep, exasperated satisfaction by that confession. It made sense now. "And yes, Joey is aware that I exist, and is aware of what we are doing. I was formed after the coma that you put him through."

There was some flaws to that statement, but it would have to do for now. "So, _**Jona**_." He said her name bitterly. That only made the woman smile which irritated the billionaire genius. "Do you have some agenda to split Mokuba and I apart?"

Joey cannot believe his attitude! Okay, he can, but he's such a dick! _"No, she doesn't ya asshole! It's your fault for being a-"_

"That depends. Are you always this predictable?" She was not affected by the sudden shade cast over thee Seto Kaiba's striking cobalt eyes.

"Give me back, Wheeler." He demanded darkly that even Joey had to cower in fear.

_"NYEH! Do what he says!"_

**"Don't be intimidated by him!"**

_"I-I'm not intimidated! Who said I'm intimidated?! I just don't want to make him angrier than he already is!"_

Jona refrained herself from rolling her eyes. Her reincarnation was overreacting. **"He won't attack you. He cares about you."**

_"Yeah, and the next day, you'd see on the next news' headline 'Graduating Student nearly killed by CEO.'!"_

Jona snorted. Kaiba's anger began to seethe. "What? Is Wheeler too scared to come out? Ha. Should've known he didn't have the balls to face me."

_"Fuck off, Seto! I would if Jona would let me! Why won't you let me!"_

**"Give it a minute, and you should consider of what to say to him, instead of sputtering yourself out of this discussion."**

Joey crossed his arms. He looked over at his friends who were seated at another row. They planned to sit together, but then during practice, Seto got to him first, and prevented him from finding them for no apparent reason! Yugi and Ryou waved at him.

He waved back, and then lied down with his thoughts. He didn't know of what to say, so he organized his opinions, feelings and such. He did promise to give Seto his best opinion. When Jona saw this, she told Seto to wait for a minute. The CEO was no pleased, but then if it meant that Wheeler will be back with him, then he'll endure the other personality's presence.

When Joey finished, he took a deep breath, and asked for permission to be back in his own body. Jona granted it.

Seto immediately felt his to-be lover's presence. "What do you have to say for yourself now, Joey? Not that it will help you."

Joey ignored his attitude to tell Kaiba his answer. "Jona and I didn't mean to put a wedge between you and Mokuba's relationship. We were just trying ta help Mokuba get through whatevah he's goin' through. He's growing up n' figuring out who he is, n' I- we just wanna support him. I'm sorry for steppin' out of bound in your family."

Seto silently sighed. Once again, it felt like he was losing a battle of apologies. He decided to put in his two cents. He tactfully placed his hand over Joey's. The CEO never realized of how cold his hand was at this moment. Joey's own was practically defrosting him by its radiating heat. The blond visibly blushed by this gesture which made Kaiba smirk, but then he removed that smile to appear sincere. "I understand, and thank you for being there for Mokuba when I couldn't."

"Of course I would be there for him. He's my little bud."

Hearing those words warmed a part of the CEO's frosted chest that it felt like tiny chips of spiked ice was poking at the other side of his chest's skin. Damn, did he want to kiss Joey so badly. Yet, he composed himself, and then removed his hand.

Joey almost whimpered at the loss of the touch. Seto did the same gesture back at prom night, and it was nice. He blushed when he remembered of how they nearly kissed each other. He didn't know of what Seto's intentions were for kissing his forehead, but he was glad he kissed his cheek. He shivered at the memory.

"Joey," Seto started. Joey hummed. "Next time refrain your other personality from filling Mokuba's head with nonsense like how to forgive by visiting our dead parents' graves. I don't know of what you think of that, but as the responsible guardian of Mokuba, that advice was indeed out of bounds for your split personality to had suggest such a personal idea when she knows absolutely nothing of how distressing that suggestion was. Especially to a thirteen year old who is still trying to find out who he is."

Joey felt insulted on Jona's behalf, but he had to agree that Seto was right. The blond thought his incarnation was being helpful back then, but after hearing of what Seto had to say, he had to admit that Jona did step out of bounds with such a suggestion.

Jona felt the same. **"Tell him I'm sorry. I promise to not do it again."** Joey relayed the message.

"Duly noted." Seto accepted. "Oh, and another thing. She will not take over your body when she is around me. I want only you in my presence inside your body."

"What wrong with Jona?"

"Let's make one thing clear, Joey. You and only you are my friend. I do not care of how many personalities you have or how disruptive they could be You and you alone will be the only person within that body who I will accept in my presence, and will have the priviledge to speak to me as a friend. Not Jona. Not anyone else. As far as I am aware, Jona is merely another annoying friend of yours from your cheer leading squad."

"Hey!" Joey hissed in a whisper. They were still whispering this entire time. "Jona is an amazing person! She's the one who taught me how to fight and all that other cool stuff like speakin' German!"

Seto snorted, "If Jona is a split personality, then she only holds a part of you that you already possessed, Joey. You could've done all those things yourself. You just had to stop being an idiot, and realize that you are good enough to achieve anything you put your mind to."

Joey furrowed his brows. "Did...Did you just insult me and compliment me at the same time?"

The blue-eyed brunet smirked. "So what if I did? Don't tell me that you're falling for me, because I, the great Seto Kaiba, owner of the high esteemed Kaiba corporation, had complimented you."

Joey made an awkward frown at him. "Shut up, Kaiba!" He crossed his arms, and looked over at the speaker without any care of who was speaking now. "I wouldn't fall for you for that stupid reason! Egotistical jerk!"

"Huh. Then what would make you fall for me, Joey? I'm curious." Kaiba definitely was. What was Joey's reason for falling for him. Mokuba said he just did, but there has to be a better reason.

Joey was frozen on the spot. His heart pounding against his ribs as if he was before a jury, and he had just been put under oath to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. He didn't want to answer Seto's question, but that could make him suspicious.

"Ma-maybe if you dropped the dog names, I could."

"Okay."

Joey snapped his head to Seto. "Re-really?"

The CEO smirked at him, "But I'm still calling you puppy. Consider it a term of endearment."

"Consider my foot in your ass a term of endearment. I'm not a puppy."

"Tell me that when you stop using puppy eyes to get what you want."

Joey narrowed his eyes at the taller male. He didn't want to be called puppy, but he had to admit that it was better than mutt, and this time, Seto wasn't using the dog names to degrade him. He also didn't want to be hypocritical since he still wanted to use his puppy eyes. He was the puppy eyes master! His puppy eyes got him what he wanted before so he's not giving up on them now!

"Fine!" He reluctantly agreed, and then muttered, "Stupid moneybags."

Seto heard him, so whispered back teasingly, "Puppy."

"Asshole."

"Virgin."

"Slut."

"Idiot."

"Egomaniac."

"Shhhh!" A teacher had finally caught them talking when they began to stop whispering, and ordered them to listen.

The two stayed silent.

"Amateur actor." Seto whispered.

Joey hit him with his elbow. He hit him back. They pushed against each other, and bickered until they were shushed again.

The rest of the graduation was boring. Although, Joey felt like an achiever when he got his highschool degree. It was one step finally accomplished, and now, he just needed to get himself a culinary arts degree. Yet, he will have to pause on getting that degree since he did make a promise to bring the Draco agency up in popularity.

He's still young, so he can still own his restaurant eventually. It didn't matter how old he was as long as he made his dream come true.

He grinned brightly when she saw his dad and Mr. McConnen waiting for him outside of the auditorium. They each gave him their own congratulations and a hug. He was then crowded by his fanclub who cried for them, and cheered him on to be his best! He thanked them all, and then met up with his friends. Tea gave her friendship speech, and they did their hand thing.

After all the speeches and the tears, Joey said his goodbyes to them. He wasn't surprised that Seto disappeared since the CEO would've been crowded by his fangirls.

A week later, Joey said goodbye to Yugi and Tea who left for New York. Yugi's grandpa cried for his grandson, but encouraged him to go on his own adventure with his future wife.

And then Yugi pulled Joey to the side so they could talk. The two best friends faced each other, but didn't say anything. They just stared at each other as their memories of their adventures, their lazy days, and duels flood between them. The atmosphere had an airy feel as if the two had enter into a misty field of nothing. Nothing was there, but the two of them.

Yugi knew now that he needed to believe in Joey's strength to carry on alone now with new friends that he will make on the way without him. Joey knew what Yugi was thinking, and he appreciated that. Yugi was the first spark of light to lead Joey down on the right path, and he will never stop being grateful to Yugi for that. He knew Yugi was going to be alright, but if something happened, he'll be there for him. It'll take him dropping dead before anyone would stop him from saving his pal.

Yugi knew what Joey was thinking, and appreciated that as well. Joey was his first true friend who taught him courage. The fact that the ex-bully would risk his life for his sake, and will carry his burden along the way without question, was more than anything Yugi could ever ask for. He loved Joey, and Joey loved him. They'll always be best friends, even in the next life as it was proof from Atlantis as dragon knights to royalty in Ancient Egypt and Greece, and now as the top duelists in the world.

Jona looked at this with great pride and love. She wished Atem could be with her now to witness this.

Tea called out to them that it was time to leave.

Joey and Yugi continued to stare at each other for half a minute and then smile at each other.

Joey started, "See ya soon, Yug'."

Yugi smile became brighter at that. "You too, Joey. I will always love you."

The blond chuckled. "I will always love you, too, man."

Tristan teased, "Are you two gonna kiss or what?"

"Shut up, Trist." Joey elbowed him on the side.

Yugi and Tea said their last goodbyes as they walked away to their terminal. Joey stayed at the airport until the airplane that they were riding was out of sight. Yugi looked out of his window until the sight of Domino was out of his own sight.

Once they were, both males looked away with a new face of determination to accomplish new goals separately.

(Pause to calm down from Wishshipping. Deep breaths.)

._._._.

Joey was in a black tights and a white t-shirt since he was a guy. It would be awkward looking to wear a female's leotard when he had balls. Right now he was stretching in the dance studio. His dance instructor was going to come in after ten minutes so he was physically alone for now.

Jona was instructing him of how to stretch since she had watched an earlier dance class do stretching exercises. She had Joey reaching for his toes at the moment.

She was then surprised to find Seto enter the room in black tights and a white t-shirt as well. It was obvious that he was attending the same dance class with the intentions to woo Joey. She then smirked. **"Joey, do the happy baby stretch position."**

_"Really?"_

**"Just do it, and keep your eyes closed."**

_"Why?"_

**"To really feel it working." **She refrained herself from laughing evil.

_"Whatever, you're the expert."_ Joey did the position with his eyes closed. Seto was staring down at him on the floor with a very amused look. He silently placed his gym bag to the floor next to the blond's own before walking around to get a full view of it.

**"Now do the open lizard."** Joey changed his position without knowing that his face was near the brunet's crotch. He did smell a clean laundry soap and a familiar odor. _"Is someone there?"_

**"No. Just us. Now do yoga stretch, the bow. Take a deep breath in and out."** Joey unknowingly blew his breath on Seto's crotch. The CEO bit his lip as he felt the blond's warm breath tickle him between his hips. **"Roll back onto your back, turn onto your stomach, and then position yourself in the wide legged split position."**

At this point Seto thought that Joey was teasing him because his ass was right there for the taking. Jona could see how what she doing was becoming tantalizing to the young man. She decided to take one step more. **"Does it feel good Joey?"**

Joey moaned because he began to feel his muscles loosen up. Seto took a silent step back because his big friend wanted to take him forward. Jona ordered for Joey to sink down. Joey did slowly until his legs were completely split on the floor. He then sat up with a groaning sigh that did wonders for Seto's lower half.

Joey stood up and then turned around with opened eyes. "AAH! Ka-SETO!" He fell back down dramatically. He could've sworn he saw something predatory-like in Seto's eyes! It sent goosebumps throughout his entire body. He looked to Jona who flew away. He looked back at Seto. "Wha-what are you doing here?!"

Seto took in a slow deep breath as he thought rationally. "It appears that I am taking the same class as you. I have to freshen up my skills as the world's top CEO after all." he replied smoothly. He positioned himself to make sure that the blond didn't noticed his standing ovation to his flexibility. "I didn't know you were so flexible, puppy. Were you born like that, or are preparing yourself for your first time?"

Joey blushed bright red. Seto was watching him the whole time! Wait, why was that a problem? Didn't matter! The man was insulting him! "Shut up! And what do you mean you didn't know! I thought it was obvious when we tangoed! I just happened to be born flexible for your information, not that it's any of your business."

Seto chuckled, "Interesting. I guess you do have talent after all."

"Are you implyin' somethin', punk?!" Joey grimaced at him. "If I remember correctly, yur the one spreading legs here."

_You can bet all my money that I will._

Seto smugly questioned, "Jealous that I have a sex life unlike you?"

"No cuz unlike you, my sex life will be a lot more lively and beautiful unlike your cold, pathetic one!"

_I'll be looking forward to that, Joey. I will try my best to be gentle to you at first, but you can bet on your nice, round, big ass that I will be making you cry for me to fuck you harder all throughout the night._

"Well, Joey-"

"Hello!" The instructor interrupted them. "My name is Miss Dai! I will be your dance instructor along with my dance partner, Miss Eir. I understand that Mister Kaiba already knows all the dance styles, but you only know a few Mister Wheeler. That's okay, since I was hired to teach you after all, and I've been told that you are quite the quick learner. I saw your spontaneous tango video with Mister Kaiba, and you may have potential to be in Dancing with the Stars."

Joey brightened by the compliments. "Thanks! I-"

"Let's get on with the lessons." Kaiba interrupted since he knew that the blond was entering into chat mode. Joey glared at him for the interruption, but didn't say anything out of spite. He was the newbie, so he needed to spend every second learning. "What is Wheeler learning today?"

"Well, first, what kinds of dance styles do you know mister Wheeler? I would like to see what you can do. Mister Kaiba is already obvious a champ."

Joey thought about it first, and then looked at his fist. For each dance style he named. "I know how slow dance, waltz and tango. Oh, and the fox trot, chacha and the jive too! My friend, Tea, taught me and my friends."

"Good! You know alot of ballroom dances! And I have the music just to see how good you are! Miss Eir." The duelists' instructor's dance partner set up the speakers and the latest music device plugged into it. "Let's start with the simple slow dance."

A simple instrumental music began. Joey figured that he will have the female lead since he knew Seto would stubbornly take the male lead. The blond didn't fight him since he wanted to keep a good impression for their dance instructor, and since he was famous for being a cross dresser, a lot of men might assume that he will automatically take the female part. Joey guessed there was no harm. He wasn't going to dance professionally, anyway.

It irritated him though when Seto was looking like a pompous dick as he naturally took the dominant lead. They slow danced for a few minutes before the music suddenly turned into a Michael Buble'.

"Fox trot!" Their instructor cried.

They change their step pattern immediately to the rhythm of the music. The music then changed to some modern pop song that set a fast tempo one.

"Chacha!"

They changed their step pattern again. Joey swayed his lips more sensually, and then the music switched to an old rock song.

"Jive!"

Joey did his best not to slip as they continued to quicken the pace, and then suddenly the music changed to classical.

"Waltz!"

The two slowed their pace like a light switch, and flow to the music. And then the music changed into latin music.

"Tango!"

Joey and Kaiba did the same as they did at the Halloween ball. They went spontaneous, yet rocked it. They just matched well together. Seto could predict Joey moments, but the blond, despite being studied, wanted to sabotage the brunet for the fun of it. He tried to make the brunet slip up, but then Joey failed in completing his attempts when the music stopped.

Miss Dai had a cold hard expression on her face. Miss Eir was blank. It worried Joey, but Seto seemed to be calm. Their dancing instructor soon spoke, "You two showed to have great skill together. Mister Kaiba makes up for Mister Wheeler's lack of experience, but Mister Wheeler was able to make up for Mister Kaiba's lack of charisma."

"Excuse me?" The CEO cruely inquired.

The instructor didn't seem to be phased by him. "I only speak the truth. You show great precision and talent, Mister Kaiba, but what you were missing was heart which I can see that Mister Wheeler has plenty of. Now that I know your chemisty, I can tell that I will be able to teach at least three new dance styles to Mister Wheeler in just a month."

"Three?" Joey knew that that meant he literally only had four days to learn and perfect a style in only four days for each one.

Their dance instructor smiled sweetly at him. "You can do it, Mister Wheeler. Miss Kiyoko suggested these three dance styles since you will also be attending several important parties during the world tour. First you will learn contemporary, and then salsa, and last the rumba. Is that alright with you Mister Kaiba."

"Whatever." The CEO actually preferred that. Those three were considered one of the most romantic types of dance styles. That sly agent knew what she was doing. Kiyoko knew what Seto was planning, but would not leak out the news since she was rather fond of Joey, and didn't want to hurt their relationship. Seto was still suspicious of her, yet if worse came to worse, he would have Joey be his no matter the circumstances.

Miss Dai expected his answer, so moved on. "Now let's start with a contemporary routine. You must have your body move freely to the rhythm of the music while also telling a story. You two will tell a love story about a man who misses his ex-lover, but tries to play as if he doesn't. Mister Kaiba you will be that man while Mister Wheeler will be a figment of that lover that plagues you. This is the song that you will be dancing to."

Miss Eir played the song for them, and then afterwards, Miss Dai began instructing them. Joey did his best to follow while the genius Kaiba helped him learn it. The blond felt kind of shy when they had to get handsy on each other. At first it was just Joey dancing around him with smiles, pokes, and whispers in the ear while Seto is at first standing still and then try to push him away. But eventually, the brunet's character gives in to the figment, and they will dance beautifully together. Joey continued smiling all happy-like, but Seto will have a face of devastation. Seto was instructed that when he finally gives into the figment, he had to dance as if he wanted to hold the figment, but his hold slips away before he can get a good grip. Joey was to dance ignorant to this.

"That's tragic." Joey commented. "Why would the man want to remember a lover that would be ignorant to his sadness?"

The instructor explained, "It's the same as why do we remember the people we lost with a smile when we're grieving."

"Is the ex-lover dead?"

"No, moron." Kaiba responded. "It's simple. You're sad that you cannot see your sister for a few more years, but despite your grievance, you'll remember her with a smile."

"Oh. Okay." Joey frowned at that explanation, but it made things clear for him.

And so they continued to get through the routine until the end where Kaiba was left alone while Joey walked away.

By the end of the class, they got the routine down. The female instructors left before them leaving the two males alone.

Seto made his move, "Do you have any plans after this Joey?"

"Hm?" The actor hummed. "No. Why?"

Seto smirked. The blond had no idea what he went through with Mokuba to plan out their first perfect date after the prom night. The two of them were celebrities now, so the Kaiba brothers had to consider dates that were more secluded, but not completely. They also had to make sure it was romantic, but didn't force the idea of it.

Mokuba had stopped avoiding him, but they hadn't had a decent conversation, yet. It's only simple words such as greetings or news to be informed about. Mokuba was still going to cover for him at work while he seduced Joey since his little brother still wanted their relationship to happen.

Kaiba thoughtrepairing their relationship was the most important, yet the brunet figured that it was best if they took things slowly since both of them were still holding onto their opinion about the issue of their parents' graves. Seto hoped Mokuba would let go of that choice. Roland informed him every day that his brother still hadn't made a move to visit their graves yet.

Seto made himself ignore his "I bought myself a new boat. Mokuba and I are barely talking, so I wondered if you would like to take a small trip with me in it."

Joey could've sworn that Seto just asked him out on a date, but then they were friends. Friends do take boat rides together. "Sure. And it's nice ta hear that you and Mokuba are slowly patchin' things up. Jus' let me get changed in the waiting room, n' I'll meet ya outside. Are we takin' yur limo cuz I got here by taxi. Some idiot threw their old computer out of the window from the tenth floor! It landed right smack on my car! Can ya believe that?! Now I gotta wait fer it ta be repaired at the car shop. It's gonna take a couple of weeks."

"That's nonsense. It only took a week to repair my cars. You're no longer a street grunt, Wheeler, and do not have to pay for your father's rehab bills anymore, so why didn't you pay those car repairmen to fix yours within a week."

"Because I paid them to repair the other cars." Joey explained, "I can live wit' takin' a taxi or the subway train ta anywhere I have ta be, but there are other cars dat really need repairin' like a minivan dat belongs ta a single mom or a single dad wit' kids. Or anodder car dat belongs ta a family strugglin' wit' odder bills."

"You cannot be serious."

"Hey, I used ta be a street grunt, remebah. I grew up around strugglin' people all my life, n' was one of dem. I'm jus' givin' dem a little bit of leeway from deer tough life like I wished someone would've done fer me."

"You made your choice to suffer, Joey. Mokuba told me that your grandmother offered to adopt you when your mother didn't want you."

"Cuz my dad was also strugglin'. But dat's all in de past. So are ya gonna give me a ride ta dis great boat of yurs, or not."

"Whatever, but don't pay me for giving you service. It'll just be an insult."

Joey snorted, "Does de service come with free drinks?"

Kaiba smirked at him. "Yes, and luckily for you, free food as well."

Joey grinned brightly. He quickly took his bag that he had set to the side. "Give me fifteen minutes!"

"Fifteen minutes?"

"Hey! A guy's gotta look pretty!" He ran out for the waiting room. Kaiba figured that he should change as well, so dressed himself into a light blue casual shirt, beige slacks with a brown belt, put on his rolex which showed the time that it was past six, new socks with his black loafers, and a brown coat for when the night would begin to get chilly.

"I'm back!" Joey cried out with his female voice as he appeared in the room. The male obvious had fixed his hair and put on make up to appear neat and feminine. He was wearing a green, buttoned up blouse with a folded down collar; it was tucked into a high-waisted flower printed skater skirt. He also wore black and brown wedges. "Oh wow," He laid against the door frame with his arms crossed. "I think this is the first time I've seen you wear casual. You look...normal."

Kaiba snorted, "And you don't."

Joey took no offense to that. He was not normal. He was fuckin' extraordinary! "Are we going or not asshole?"

"Not with that attitude. Say 'Can we go please, master Kaiba.'."

"Can we go please, master dickhead." Joey deadpanned.

"Close enough. But since I'm in a good mood, I'll train you to say that correctly later, puppy."

Joey couldn't tell of whether the brunet was joking or not, but either way, he snapped, "And I'll bite you so you'll get rabies!"

Kaiba lightly chuckled as he approached the blond. It was a warm chuckle that sent a warm feeling in Joey's chest. "Then I better call a vet to give you your shots. And can you please drop the voice? It gets on my nerves listening to your voice shrill. You could damage your voice box. Hm, on second thought, go ahead."

"You're really makin' me not wanna go with you anymore, Kaiba." Joey said with his male voice, and then pouted.

"Suit yourself." Kaiba walked out of the room, and down the hall.

Joey immediately got off the door frame, and raced up to the man who walked too fast with his longs legs. "Hey!"

Kaiba smirked down at the blond who now walked briskly beside him. The brunet slowed down. Before the two entered the limo, the limo owner told the amber-eyed beauty that he could leave his bag in their trunk. The chauffeur dutifully took it and placed it gently in there. Joey thanked him.

"Do you think anyone took pictures of us?" The blond questioned. He looked back at the rear window as the chauffeur began to drive.

Seto had one arm lie across the top of the limo seat with his legs crossed. "Not a professional at least, and I doubt anyone would recognize me in this attire. I also happen to have an app on my phone that will alert me of where each and every employed reporter is."

"What? Seriously?" Joey mentally smacked himself for asking that. "Pffbt! Obviously! You're freakin' Seto Kaiba. Why wouldn't you have that app? But isn't that like an invasion of privacy? I mean how are you tracking them exactly? Did you put a chip in each of their brain?"

"If only." Kaiba said slightly wistfully. "Then I could knock them out before they dared to take a picture without my permission. No, it's there camera. A part of Kaiba corporation invest in selling the best upgraded technology which includes cameras. Anyone who wants to take their career seriously knows that buying Kaiba corps. latest technology will make things a bit more easier to accomplish. You could consider it as a silent rule among people has to deal with technology in their career. If any photographer has a camera that is not made by Kaiba corps. is no problem of mine since I doubt they can get a shot worthy of the news since the quality has to match with our camera's quality."

Joey was impressed, but he wouldn't tell the arrogant prick. Instead he changed the subject, "So what kind of boat did you buy?"

"You'll see when we get there." Seto leered at him which made Joey feel uncomfortable since he didn't want to assume anything.

The two remained quiet until they arrived at the docks. Seto told the chauffeur to come when he calls. The two of them exited, walked along the dock, and then stopped in front of a yacht that happened to be entitled 'Puppy' in black cursive.

Joey didn't like that title. He faced Seto angrily with an indignant finger pointing at the yacht. "Hey, did you name it the Puppy to piss me off!"

Kaiba did his leer again which made Joey feel his heart beating at a weird pace. "You have to forgive me, Joey." He said mockingly. "It was the only name I could think of when I bought it since I already have thirty of these."

"Thirty?! What the hell do you do with them?! Do you give them to your hoes as gifts or somethin'?!"

"Hn. Don't be ridiculous, puppy. I only buy them to flaunt my wealth in the faces of my opponents just because I can. I seriously have all the money in the world, that I have no idea of what I'm supposed to do with all of them."

"Give it to charity to save the starving children around the world, medical organizations to find cures, save war victims, and donate to animal shelters." Joey suggested.

Seto frowned. He was supposed to impress the blond! Now he looks like a real douchebag! He remained calm. He can do damage control. "Kaiba corporation do play a part in making the world a better place with the charities to orphanages and other authentic organizations that promise to work for the same goal." He said all business like.

Joey now looked at him with a glimmer in his eyes that he was now impressed by him. Yet, it was more genuine awe. What that meant was that of course when flaunting wealth by doing unnecessarily expensive things, it's appropriate to be given or it must be given that awed reaction. Yet to spend wealth on more humbler duties, that awed reaction was given by the heart.

Seto noted to himself that money did not impress the blond as much as being a charity worker was. The blond commented, "So ya do know what ta do wit' yur money, richboy." He gave his trademark grin before facing the yacht. "So let's see what kind of bad boy your yacht is."

The blue-eyed duelist helped his future lover get onto it, and then unlocked the door to the inside. Joey expected it to be lavished with a lot of rich stuff like a bar, a rich guy's living room with an installed flat screen tv, a first class dining room, and master's bedroom as if the yacht was a house on the water.

However, he was surprised to find it looking...homey. When they entered, there was a first class kitchen to Joey's left. He encountered a nice dining table that could fit ten people at once. He went around the table where he now was at the living room. He was right behind a u-shaped couch that faced toward a table, and a flat screen tv mounted to the wall above an electric fireplace, and had shelves at the sides filled with books, videos and DVDs. There was another table in front of it with a video/DVD player and a projector that faced slanted up.

What made it look homey despite how expensive it looked was that it contained more earth toned colors. It was also by how soft and warm the place looked and felt, that he felt like lounging around. He honestly expected it to be mostly white, sleek, and looked like he entered the future. Not that he was complaining. He preferred it like this. He can see bringing his friends here to have some fun without feeling like he was trying to impress anyone with what's cool and modern these days.

He whistled. "You surprise me, Seto. I gotta admit that I was not expectin' this. I thought it was gonna be all futuristic; not that I'm complainin'. So are ya gonna sail this thing or what?"

"There's really no point in sailing this ship since I just wanted to show you the decor."

"Whatever you say. Do you got any board games in here?" Joey looked closer at the shelves to see that there was one shelf that held the board games.

Seto looked at his puppy incredulously. "We are in a five-star yacht, and the first thing you want to do is play a board game." He at least expected him to actually use the flat screen TV and look for the latest games that were put into the closet of the master bedroom.

Yet, Joey had his reasons for his seemingly boring idea. "Yeah! This is my first time being in a yacht! But I haven't been able to play a board game since Yugi left, so how about it, Seto?" He knelled down for an even closer look to what he might choose. "Up for a board game or does your company need you?"

"Mokuba can handle things while I'm here. I am simply surprised that out of everything else you can do to take advantage of this first time experience of being in the luxury of the rich, and you want to do something boring like a board game." He looked deeply disappointed.

Joey defended himself, "Hey! We can have a lot of fun playing a board game! But I am pretty hungry. Did you stock the fridge with fresh food."

Now that was more like it for the brunet. "Anything your heart desires." He smugly replied.

The blond's eyes sparkled when he made a leap for the kitchen to check out the fridge, drawers cabinets, and island counter with granite counter tops which had the lights make it sparkle before his eyes. It was all so breath-taking to him! "Oh gawd, this is a cook's dream kitchen!" He piled items onto the island counter, and went onto cooking mode.

Seto watched with mild amusement. He could see that his puppy was lost into his task.

Soon, the yacht was filled with the smell of delicious food that even had the stoic male's stomach growl for whatever that good smell is to be put inside it. The brunet went over to the blond who was stirring a type of soup. "That smells good. What are you making?"

"This here is gumbo. I figured I could make us some Creole and Cajun cuisine for dinner. I'll be done in just a bit. Why don't you busy yourself with your boat for now."

"I rather just watch you. I believe this is the first time I've seen you cook, and I must say that I've never seen you deeply engrossed in any activity like this."

"Like I told ya before, I wanna own my own restaurant in the future. A nice, well-lit place that hard working people can relax at and enjoy good food, so be grateful that you're getting a tasty meal out of me!" Joey took a sip. He made a thinking expression, and then added some tabasco into it. He stirred it, and then took another sip. "Mmm. Here, have a taste." He put the ladle to the brunet's lips.

Seto took a sip and agreed that it was delicious. "Good work, pup. I may hire you to be my chef instead, so Mokuba and I would be the only people eating your delicious food." The blue-eyed lovestruck male felt tempted to wrap his arms around the blond's waist, but he restrained himself.

Yet, he was given another beautiful smile. "Aw shucks, Seto! You're making me blush!" Joey only had a tinge of pink on his cheeks as he was smiling softly now.

Seto spoke in a serious, husky voice, "I'm serious."

Joey's cheeks reddened, and his heart began to pound hard against his chest. He tried to focus on his gumbo, so blurted out, "Ya know, if we were flavors, you'd be salty or bitter!"

Kaiba knew what the blond was doing. He did the same at prom with the blue roses, but then he wasn't going to be stopped from being utterly sexy to his future sex partner. He continued to speak with his husky voice, "Is that so?" He gave his best, ravishing smile, "Then would that make you sweet or spicy? Or perhaps...umami." He said umami as if it was a new sex position. "Not too sweet. Not too spicy, either. No, you'd be a pleasant savory taste that I would want on my tongue to open my senses to all the different pleasurable sensations."

Joey's breath hitched, he forced himself to gulp down his built up saliva, and then turned off the stove. "I need ta prepare de o-other food." He moved to the potatoes while inwardly hating himself for stuttering. Was Seto flirting with him? Or just teasing him? Was this a game?

Seto silently let out a small laugh, and then lightened up the situation, "Or sour because you place an unpleasant sting on my tongue like the rabbied puppy you are."

Joey appreciated that insult because it did lighten up the tension between them. "Shut up, richboy, or I'll put arsenic in your plate!"

"Ha! I would be surprised if you could find that here, but I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up poisoning yourself, too, loser dog."

Joey threw a spatula at the brunet's face. Seto dodged, and laughed at him. But it didn't sound demented or or mocking. It was one of Seto's pure genuine laugh once again that made Joey want to laugh, too. The blond stopped himself from laughing while he was trying to successfully throw the spatula across the room at the damn asshole! A giddy smile did sneak onto the blond duelist's face when he began chasing the brunet with the same spatula to smack him instead!

"C'mere!"

"In your dreams!" Seto threw a pillow right at the blond's face.

Joey was smacked right on the face with enough force to knock him off his feet and head for the floor. "Not fair!" He got up ungracefully with the same giddy smile on his face. He now tried to frown but it became awkward since his face preferred to smile. "You pitched that you, asshole!" He threw the pillow back at the brunet, but he missed his target.

"You were trying to kill me with my own kitchen utensil." Kaiba chuckled under his breath. He knew he was being childish which was unlike him, but he enjoyed it. It was such a familiar yet alienated feeling to him. Perhaps...Gozaburo didn't ingrained into him as much as Seto or Mokuba thought, if he was acting like this.

The blond responsible for this crossed his arms with a sulking face. "Yur lucky I ain't got a knife in my hand instead, bastard. I'm going back to cookin' since it looks like the shrimps are ready."

"There's no shame in admitting that you lost, puppy." Kaiba teased. He got the bird for that.

After about an hour, Joey had the food ready and placed on the table for them to dine in. Kaiba thanked him for the meal, and Joey welcomed him. They spent most of the time eating in silence, but that was because they were too busy enjoying the good food that even when the CEO knew he was full, he wanted just another bite and then another and another until his stomach was going to ache.

For Joey, he was eating in a fast, disgusting fashion where he would stuff so much, sometimes forget to chew, choke for a bit, but then was able to swallow it down. Kaiba snorted, "Please tell me that Kiyoko plans to give you a class of etiquette."

"For your information, I already am, but I'll eat like a girl on a date when I'm around other rich people." Joey continued to eat in his disgusting way.

Kaiba figured that these would be one of the flaws that he would have to live with if he were to have the blond, and he could live with that since the blond will act more respectable among public at least.

After they were done, Kaiba had Joey leave the dishes in the sink. He will have someone clean it up.

They then hit to the living room where Joey was still in the mood to play a board game. "Chess." He pulled out the chess box from the shelf. "What about chess? Wanna teach me?"

Seto rose an eyebrow to this from the couch. "You want to learn chess?"

"Yeah. I always thought it was boring, but if a game like this can still exist for about two thousand years than there's gotta be something good about it. So wanna teach me or do ya wanna play monopoly? Ooh! What about taboo!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Bring the chess board here." He ordered.

Joey happily boat it over to the coffee table, and they set up the game. Kaiba diligently taught his puppy the rules of the game. Joey found it pretty simple since just like duel monsters, each monster had their own set attacks like the chess pieces. The blond liked the queen piece the most since it can move anywhere. Freedom, baby! Kaiba almost laughed because he preferred the king piece since he was the boss.

After the blond finally learned, they played a round, and to no surprise, Joey lost. The blond tried again and again against the brunet who was in it to see his puppy riled up than the game itself. His puppy's moves were predictable and aggressive, but he could understand of what Mokuba saw when the cross dresser dueled Yugi.

There was a slight change in the blond's moves. There was actually a strategy being played out that Kaiba was able to notice would change when he foiled it. He thought for a moment that it was Jona who he was palying against, but then he saw his puppy's bright, child-like expression.

They played eight times before the amber-eyed duelist threw in the towel.

"Augh! Can't ya give me a handicap or somethin', Seto!" Joey cried out like a frustrated child.

Seto huffed at him with his back laid against the couch, arms and legs crossed, and a smug smirk played on his face. "That's what happens when you face the chess master."

"Chess master?" Joey furrowed his brows.

"Just like how you are entitled as the queen or king of dungeon dice duel monsters -a poor adaptation of the true duel monsters-"

Joey warned him, "Waaatch iiit."

Kaiba merely continued, "I am the chess king. I doubt even Yugi can defeat me at this."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves there." Joey put the chess game into its box, and put it back at the shelf. "I'm in the mood to watch something." He looked over the videos and DVDs.

Kaiba informed him that he had Hulu and Netflix, too. Joey then gasped. "You have the Merchant of Venice movie! This is my favorite play by Shakespeare!" The blond popped it into the dvd player, and then grabbed the nearby remote. He landed on the couch next to Seto, and turned it on.

"This is your favorite play?" Seto questioned.

"Yeah! It has some controversies about religion, but I watch it more for Portia. She's an awesome character! And I also like the chemistry between Antonio and Bassanio. It's angsty but nice. It sucks living in a period when homosexuality was looked down on and persecuted for. And the guy playin' Shylock is awesome, too! What about you? What's your favorite play? I bet it's Hamlet; it's Hamlet isn't it." Joey leaned forward towards his crush with expecting hazel eyes that made Seto smile. The blond just knew that he was right.

However, Seto somewhat surprised him. "I happen to not be a fan of Shakespeare. He is a talented man, but I do not favor his works like you do. Hamlet is an exceptional play, but I cannot help thinking that I would've done a better job than that fool of a prince. Why wouldn't I? I am Seto Kaiba. If my dead father came back to me as a ghost and asked me to give him vengeance, I would've told him to screw himself for being an idiot for letting his guard down. However, I would still kill my uncle so I would have the throne instead."

Joey grimaced at his plan. "You just get more creepier by the second, Seto." The brunet chuckled evilly making the blond give small mirthful nose blow and awkward smile. The movie was played, and when it was over, Joey was still in the mood for one more. He chose a movie by random from Netflix, and watch until he accidentally fell asleep on the couch. Seto was still awake since he was actually fond of this particular random movie.

Yet, finding that his puppy fell asleep, he decided to turn it off, carry his puppy to the master room, and let that be the end of their first unofficial date. Seto mentally gave himself a golden reward for his accomplishment.

He took out his phone to call his little brother. Mokuba answered, "Hm?"

"Mokuba, it's me. How is the company?"

"It's alright. How was your date?" Mokuba asked disinterestedly. It must've been on purpose since they were still on edge with each other.

"Successful."

"Great. Bye."

"Moku-" His little brother hung up on him. The brunet clutched his phone tightly that the glass was about to break. Yet, the elder Kaiba calmed himself down. That was one reward he wasn't going to receive.

"Mmm." Seto looked down at his love. The blond had rolled over which had the skirt ride up to reveal delectable, cotton, lace blue panties. It looked like the panties was being arranged into a wedgie.

The CEO had the most evil idea.

._._._.

A/N: Seto's not gonna do anything sexual! That would be harrassment! And I hope you also enjoyed their first unofficial date! Seto is slowly channeling his playful inner child! And Joey is completely clueless!

So yeah, Gozaburo is planning something big! And you would be wondering about why wouldn't Seto notice the tower at Alcatraz! Well, since it's blown up, and Gozaburo is dead to him, the island was most likely abandoned.

Will Mokuba ever visit his parents' graves? What part will Jona and Joey play in it? And how will Kaiba react?

Read on to the next chapter containing the next dates and the answers to these questions!

Thank you for your reviews! I would love more!


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